The Evil Chaos Emeralds Improved
by Joe97
Summary: Eggman invents a set of chaos emeralds that feed off of pure evil. This is the improved version. Read and Review please.
1. Eggman's New Plan

**Joe97:** Hello Everyone. This is the improved version of my story The Evil Chaos Emeralds. There are two reasons I decided to do this: one, as a tribute to my original story and two, to serve as a comparison to show how much I have improved as a writer. This was the first fan fiction story I have ever written and I was quite the amateur writer back then. I feel my story deserved an improvement, a modern interpretation. So thank you for taking the time to read this and without further a due, here is The Evil Chaos Emeralds, improved for your liking.

_**Prologue: Eggman's New Plan**_

Following the events of Sonic Advance 2, Eggman's plans had been crippled yet again. His beat up egg-o-matic barely landed in one piece and he cursed to himself as he stormed off into his workshop. There were various piles of scrap metal and half completed robots standing along the walls and lying on tables. He stomped over to his desk with multiple blueprints already laid out and he shoved them away angrily.

"Damn him!" he bellowed "Not a single machine has stood up to that meddling hedgehog; how can one animal be so powerful!"

He laid an elbow on the table to lean his head against his hand.

"Sure he has speed but he always has the chaos emeralds there as a trump card. Even when I stole the master emerald he was able to overcome me. What is it he knows that I don't?"

Eggman looked up at a blueprint he had pinned to the wall, showing a study of one of the chaos emeralds he had done when he had it in his possession.

"The only thing I know is that there are two forces that stabilize the energy within the emeralds: a positive and a negative force."

Eggman pondered deeper and recalled when he performed this experiment on the emerald. A few days after discovering said forces, he noticed that while he held the emerald in his hand, the color of the emerald became duller, showing signs of a small amount of gray within the emerald. This detail was so trivial to him that he nearly forgot it completely.

"Is it possible" he thought aloud "That the behavior of the wielder can influence the forces within the emerald?"

He recalled that when Sonic would hold all seven of the chaos emerald, they would glow very brightly and release so much energy that they would circle around him before giving him a large increase in power. So much so that he could even fly.

"Sonic's belief in the world he protects must influence the positive charge in the emerald to such an extreme that he can harness a deep power from within the emerald. The same doesn't appear to work for me, but if I could manipulate a negative energy that was influenced by my intentions, I could rival if not surpass Sonic's super power."

This breakthrough made Eggman very excited, like the first time he ever assembled a robot; at age seven mind you. He hurriedly whipped out a blank blueprint and began scribbling many calculations. In his feverish joy he continued to laugh to himself as the entire world seemed oblivious to the next insidious plot of Dr. Ivo Robotnik.


	2. The Usual Commotion

**Joe97: **I'm trying to make the chapters longer, so I'll do my best with length. If anyone has any advice, then feel free to tell me, I welcome the critique.

_**Chapter 1: The Usual Commotion**_

Another beautiful day in Station Square; the sun was shining and it reflected brightly off the large buildings that made up this home to many. Sonic the Hedgehog was quite the celebrity after foiling Eggman's plans yet again, but this peace was becoming quite boring to him. It was a typical, eventless day as he decided to check out the local arcade to kill some time.

As he crossed the street, he heard a familiar shrill voice that made him tense.

"Hey Sonic, wait up!"

He didn't even have to look at this person to know who it was, but he turned to face her anyway.

"Hey Amy" he said reluctantly.

"Oh don't look so pouty" she countered "I'm here to tell you something exciting!"

"Oh?" he became interested.

"Twinkle Park is having a special event tonight: couples night!"

Sonic felt the pit of his stomach cry in agony, he knew where this was going.

"So if you're free tonight, the two of us could go."

"Gee Amy I'd like to but you see, I have to…um" his mind drew a blank as he tried to find an excuse.

He didn't know what it was about this girl, but something made him really want to dismiss this girl entirely. As he tested his ability to lie, Amy grew furious. She moaned and stomped one foot.

"That's just like you, always trying to run away from me! Well I've had it!"

She pulled out her infamous piko piko hammer and began to swing it feverishly at Sonic.

"Amy! Settle down!"

He ducked dodged, trying to keep his head intact.

"If you think I'm so repulsive then you need a doctor, and I'll send you to him!"

"That's not what I…"

He couldn't get a word in. Her nagging was like a brick wall and he always ran into it. When Amy gets upset, there's no way to calm her down until she's ready to. He hopped backwards out of her range and as he prepared to run away, stopped when he saw a familiar blue plane landing beside them.

"Hey Sonic, hey Amy…"

It was Tails in the Tornado 2. As he landed, Tails knew he had interrupted something, but after seeing Amy swing her hammer around, he decided it was best not to ask.

"Hey Tails" Sonic felt a sigh of relief inside him "What's up?"

He noticed a wrap of bandages around Tails' arm.

"You're hurt!" he clamored "What happened to you?"

"That's just what I came to tell you guys about. I had some trouble this morning when a robot attacked me outside my workshop. I'm having Cream run some tests on it so we should head over there. I'll explain the rest on the way."

Sonic nodded. He and Amy climbed in behind Tails as they lifted off. He looked at Amy for an update on her attitude; she turned away and continued to pout. He got his answer, at the very least.

The three of them took off and headed for the Mystic Ruins.


	3. The E Series Rises Again

_**Chapter 2: The E-Series Rises Again**_

The three teenagers were sitting quietly in the Tornado 2 until Amy broke the silence.

"Hey Tails, why didn't we take the train to the Mystic Ruins?" she pondered aloud.

"Brace yourselves, but there is no train. It was destroyed by the robot this morning."

Sonic and Amy both wailed in unison.

"It was already gone by the time I woke up."

Tails continued to recall the events of this morning for the two to hear.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tossing and turning in his bed he could barely sleep a wink. The two tailed fox heard a lot of noise coming from outside unlike the usual sound of the roaring train. He climbed out of bed and stepped outside to see what could be causing such a stir in the usually quiet area; but he was unprepared for the sight he would behold. The Mystic Ruins was, quite literally, in ruins.

The few areas of grass had been burned to ash, the trees reduced to nothing but charred toothpicks, and the train station was nothing more than a crooked track hanging from the side of the mountain. The stairs, the framework, all of it gone like it was just erased right from where it stood. Everything else appeared to be intact, no visible signs of damage to the water or the jungle. This meant the perpetrator must still be nearby. Tails was thankful that his launch pad and workshop were untouched by the devastation. As he collected himself and started to look for clues, the villain made himself known!

A robot resembling one of the E-Series units appeared, flying from around the leftmost mountain at such a casual speed. It spotted Tails and moved in closer, landing before him. It had an orange paint to its frame and a large gun for a right arm; two beady green bulbs for eyes and an octagon shaped disc that was used as a jetpack, floating strangely behind the robot's back.

Tails glared at him but the robot just stared with a frozen curiosity.

"Mystic Ruins area must be destroyed" it said with a lifeless tone.

It lifted its gun and shifted several panels to form a cannon. A violet glow resonated in the barrel as it pointed its turret at Tails' workshop. Tails panicked and charged the robot, throwing his shoulder into him. The man of steel fell to his back and the blast was fired at an awkward angle, speeding into the endless blue sky. The robot climbed back to its feet, making more sputtering and buzzing noises.

"Does not compute" it protested "Obstacle hinders mission success, must remove."

Its eyes turned red as it peered at Tails.

"New target has been acquired, code name: Tails."

Swallowing his fear, Tails braced himself. A rectangular extension raised itself from the robot's shoulder and released several missiles. Tails spun his two tails around and lifted himself from the target zone, dodging the missiles.

"Ineffective" the robot reported.

A second extension raised itself from his other shoulder and fired another volley of missiles. Tails flew to the side to avoid them but the missiles gave chase!

"Heat seekers" he thought.

He flew around trying to avoid the onslaught when an idea formed in his head. He flew over towards the nearest mountainside. He faced the missiles as he placed his feet against its surface. At the last moment he pressed off from the stony surface and flew above the missiles which collided into the mountain, exploding into a large fray of smoke and rocks.

Tails touched down in front of the robot, a confidence shining in his belly. The robot stared at him, unaffected by its recent failures.

"Projectiles inefficient, adjust for improved combat situations."

The robot began to hover in the air, its body changing into something new. It retracted its legs into its body and produced long cylindrical wheels like that of a tank. Multiple cannons began to surface along its arms and a blue shield was erected around its entire body. Several compartments opened around its core and it released four small spires that flew off in various directions.

"Oh boy" Tails thought to himself "This is getting dangerous. I won't win this fight with my fists."

Before the robot finished its preparations, Tails ran inside his garage and emerged with the Tornado 2, transformed into its battle form. Tails smirked at the robot, letting him know he was ready.

"All obstacles will be destroyed" it proclaimed.

"Bring it on!" taunted Tails.

The sentient being began firing a spray of machine gun bullets and various blasts from its cannons. They were nothing too serious and Tails was able to maneuver beyond them. When he had an opening he fired a laser directly at the robot but his shield absorbed the beam.

"I figured his shield wouldn't be able to handle that" he thought "but it was worth a try. I'll have to take out those spires then."

The metallic being rumbled then fired the laser back at Tails! Tails was caught off guard and couldn't dodge the blast. It blew through one of the jets and made it difficult to move the Tornado 2. He continued to lose altitude until he landed back on the ground.

"Without that jet I won't be able to dodge his shots in time. I need to end this quickly."

Tails fired a smoke bomb that exploded right in front of the robot. It submersed him in a deepening fog giving Tails a small window of time. He adjusted his weapons to target the four spires that had attached themselves to various spots nearby. He fired a volley of missiles that each connected and removed the robot's shield.

Hidden within the cloud of smog, the robots sensors were befuddled and unable to make any attack until it cleared away. It activated a large fan within its chest and pushed all of the smoke away. As the view cleared, the robot saw Tails standing right in front of him.

"Good Night" he sneered.

The cannon of the Tornado 2 was fully charged and shot a blast that blew the foreign man of metal into hundreds of unidentifiable pieces. However, the robot had a bomb concealed in his chest, doubling the force of the impact! The force of the explosion blew Tails and his machine away! Tails came loose from the cockpit and was sent reeling across the ground, cutting open the side of his arm. His machine crashed into the side of the workshop and left a fair dent in the paneling. Tails tried to sit up but was badly injured.

"I'm so stupid" he thought "I should've known about that bomb…he could've killed me at any time."

He struggled to get up on his hands. He reached for his watch to try and send a distress signal, but passed out before he had the chance.


	4. Plotting Against the Mastermind

_**Chapter 3: Plotting Against the Mastermind**_

As Tails came to, he realized he was lying in his bed. He looked around at the room to try and convince himself this wasn't some kind of dream. As he tried to stand up, the wound on his arm burned and then he knew this wasn't a dream. He noticed a clean bandage that was wrapped neatly around his injury.

"Don't overdo it" he heard a familiar happy voice.

At that moment, Cream the rabbit walked through the door carrying a tray with a bowl of soup and crackers on it. It wasn't unusual for her to be at his workshop; far to the contrary, ever since he helped rescue her from Eggman, the two were inseparable. She had become so interested in Tails' work that she had become an apprentice with a love interest to Tails.

She set it down before Tails and placed her hand against his head.

"You're temperature is finally going down. You were burning up when I found you."

Tails looked at with clueless eyes. He still felt a bit dazed from everything that happened.

"I was worried sick when I saw you lying there. What exactly happened?"

He explained everything about the robot and the fight that took place.

"That explains what scorched area on the ground is" she sat down at his bedside "I figured something bad had happened so I collected what I could from the site."

She motioned towards a bag on the table that had small pieces of metal and traces of ash in it.

"There was hardly anything left of him so I did the best I could."

"Thank you for everything Cream."

He leaned forward and gave her a firm hug. The two of them had been growing closer together as of late, so Cream was hardly embarrassed by the gesture.

"I need to go wash the dishes" she said as she pulled away from the embrace. She left the room, giving Tails a moment to think to himself. The attack by that robot was so sudden and it fought very aggressively. This had to be Eggman's doing, but the thought scared Tails. If there were robots flying around so haphazardly, destroying areas without cause, then his plans must be so far along that he is trying to draw Sonic out for a fight and he would only challenge Sonic if he knew he had an ace up his sleeve.

"I need to warn Sonic" he assured himself.

Getting up from his bed wasn't as painful this time since he was aware of his gash. He walked into the kitchen to consult Cream about his plans. He explained to her his worry about the appearance of the robot and asked her to conduct some tests on the sample she found. Having spent so much time with Tails, Cream was able to perform minute tasks in the lab such as running a computer scan over materials, etc. Since the train had been destroyed, he had no choice but use his busted plane. He headed into the garage and spent a little over an hour repairing the jet on the Tornado 2 and as soon as he finished, he climbed in and flew off towards Station Square.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"That's basically what happened" Tails concluded.

"That sounds rough" said Sonic "But don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this and make whoever's responsible pay!"

Tails felt a glimmer of joy in his stomach. Sonic was like an older brother to him and hearing him say that really made him proud to have such a good friend.

The plane came to a landing a few feet from the workshop with Cream waving at them as the plane braced itself against the ground.

"Hi Sonic, hi Amy!" she cheered.

Any chuckled. "Hi Cream, it's good to see you."

"Hey there Cream. Long time no see."

She turned her attention to Tails.

"Hey Tails, I finished those scans you wanted me to run and I've got the results."

"Oh that's good to hear. Let's go inside and have a look."

The four of them walked into Tails' workshop where Tails studied over a long sheet of paper. He nodded a few times and made a few noises to himself before sharing with the others.

"Well my hunch was right, this is definitely Eggman's doing."

"Of course" scoffed Sonic.

"It seems here that Eggman has invested some time in creating another unit of the E-Series we encountered a few years ago. Ya know, like Gamma?"

The others nodded quietly.

"This unit was E-108 Eta. Seems he's quite fond of the Greek alphabet. In any case, this proves that Eggman was behind my attack and who knows what else he could be planning. Sonic, he's got a reason to be throwing his power around, I can feel it."

He walked over to a large map of the area he had pinned up on the wall.

"When I traced the origin point from Eta I discovered that he came from this location in the mountains."

He pointed to an area on the map.

"We need to mount a counterattack before he takes over our home, but you need to play it safe, you should take someone with you."

The room was quiet for a moment. Tails knew who he wanted to say but was reluctant to do so.

"I think you should take Knuckles with you."

Sonic snarled and turned his eyes away from the group. The two of them had been lifelong rivals but lately things had become tense between them. There were times when Knuckles' responsibility to protect the master emerald conflicted with his want to help the group. It was his duty to protect that emerald, it was just who he was.

"Fine" complained Sonic "I'll have him help me."

Tails breathed a sigh and felt more confident in their plan. He would remain there with the girls and prepare for any more attacks they may face at the hands of the Eggman. With everyone agreeing on the strategy, Sonic ran off towards the Floating Island to meet up with Knuckles.


	5. Taking the Fight to Eggman

**Joe97: **Hey everybody, hope you're enjoying the story so far. Just wanted to mention that if anyone is interested in illustrating a few of the scenes from this story then by all means! But please contact me so we can discuss it. I would like that very much. =)

_**Chapter 4: Taking the Fight to Eggman**_

It was an eventless day on the Floating Island. Knuckles the Echidna was laying against the master emerald with his arms folded, a bit dreary from the lack of action. His stubbornness kept him from dozing off as he forced himself to be alert at all times. He had been unaware of the destruction going on earlier this morning. Just then he noticed a blue streak come whizzing towards him from the direction of the train station. He scowled when the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog appeared before him.

"Long time no see" greeted the blue blur.

"What do you want?" jeered the red guardian.

"That's no way to welcome an old friend" Sonic teased.

"The word friend is stretching it. So why did you come here?"

"I need your help. Eggman is stirring up trouble again and there's a good chance he has a real ace up his sleeve."

"Why do you need my help? It's just Eggman; you've stopped him many times before."

"Yeah but I got a bad vibe about it this time. He's been sending robots out randomly, trying to destroy the area, just for the hell of it. You are aware that the train station is gone, right?"

"No…" said Knuckles curiously.

Sonic explained the attack on the mystic ruins and Tails that happened this morning.

"Jeez!" wailed Knuckles "I didn't hear a thing. I need to start paying more attention."

"So will you help me?" pleaded Sonic "I know you've been bored since we last beat him. It'll be just like old times."

That happy go lucky attitude was hard to deny. Knuckles felt a smile creep up on his face.

"Alright you big pansy, I'll help you."

He grabbed Sonic's hand and pulled him into a half hug, patting him on the shoulder with his free hand.

"One more thing" Sonic interrupted "I need to borrow the chaos emeralds."

"Things have gotten that bad, huh?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to take a chance."

Knuckles nodded. He walked into a small room in the base of the master emerald's shrine and came back out with a cloth bag.

"Alright, let's go."

Sonic nodded and the two of them began their journey to Eggman's fortress.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The red and blue heroes arrived at the base, deep within the mountains. It stood embedded into the side of mountain like an unwanted blackhead on the face of the world. Very small traces of memory were found during the scan of Eta which Tails used to make a blueprint of the layout of Eggman's fortress. Sonic pulled out the map from his backpack and studied the floor plans with Knuckles.

"I'll climb up the outside of the fortress, distracting the guards, and make my way up to this window."

He pointed at a large pane of glass that was at the top of the fortress.

"I'll break in and look for Eggman. I want to take the fight straight to him."

He traced his finger to a channel that ran underneath the base and down the side of the mountain.

"While I do that you can pass through here Knuckles, the guards won't even notice you. You go in and try to find what Eggman could possibly be plotting."

"Is that a sewage pipe?" groaned Knuckles.

"Looks like it."

"Why do I always get the crap jobs?"

"Because I've got a beef with Eggman; he needs to pay for what he did to Tails."

"Alright, alright" droned the echidna "But first I need to do something. Hold out your hand."

Knuckles took one the chaos emeralds from the bag and placed it against Sonic's palm. It began to descend into his hand, being absorbed in a small pool of energy.

"What's happening!" cried Sonic.

"Be cool. I've been working with the power of the emeralds and this is a technique that makes using their power much more convenient."

He continued the process for all seven emeralds. As he placed the last one in his hand, he gave Sonic a stern look.

"But let me warn you, do not absorb any other type of emerald into the same hand. I don't know all the details, but if you have two types of emeralds absorbed into the same arm, their energies will clash and it could kill you."

Sonic shook the concerned look off his face and nodded.

"Ok, I'll keep that in mind."

The two of them touched fists and went their separate ways.

-0-0-0-0-0-

As they split up, they neglected to see the eye of a camera watching them. From the highest room in the fortress, Eggman was watching them.

"So, you think you can just barge in and finish me quickly ay? Zeta, Theta, report!"

Two robots came stomping in from an adjacent room. They were the next two members of the E-series to be used; E-107 Zeta who had a white paint across his frame and E-109 Theta that shined with a brilliant yellow.

"I have an assignment for you each. Zeta, there is a big red rat clogging up my sewer. Go down into the drain pipe and kill it."

"Understood," he buzzed, leaving the room.

"Theta, you are to go to the mystic ruins. Your brother Eta was killed earlier today and you are to find out why. When you find out who did this, kill them; destroy anything in your way."

The robot motioned its body forward into a nod and left the room. Eggman turned back to his monitor, watching Sonic shatter the guards and work his way up higher.

"Come Sonic, come right into my trap" his voice dripping with venom.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A blue sphere was bouncing off the robots like a game of pinball as it moved higher and higher up the side of the base. Sonic laughed to himself, enjoying the lack of difficulty in causing such a ruckus.

"This is too easy" he taunted "Eggman must be getting too old for this."

He finished off the last guard and landed on a ledge just outside the window. As he was about to break in, he saw a robot flying off from the docking bay to the left of the fortress. Sonic braced himself but relaxed when he saw the robot drift aimlessly away from the fortress. If only Sonic knew that it was Theta, casually seeking to complete his assignment.

Without another thought, he curled himself into a ball and crashed through the window. He landed on his feet with glass shattering around him. Eggman was leaning against a table, smirking like a demon.

"Alright doctor" spat Sonic "Just what are you up to now?"

Eggman bellowed a thick and evil laugh. There were several gray gems on the table behind him and they began to glow.

"Why don't I show you?"


	6. Conflict in the Sewer

_**Chapter 5: Conflict in the Sewer**_

Beneath the base and the impending struggle that was about to occur, Knuckles was hurrying through the sewers to reach the lower levels of the base.

"I gotta stop being such a pushover" he groaned "Next time Sonic is getting the crap job."

The tunnel was dim and had a small amount of water running through it. It sloshed beneath Knuckles' every step and made him all the more disgusted. A light suddenly appeared at the end of the tunnel, making Knuckles stop in his tracks. His curiosity made him want to go towards it but that wouldn't be necessary. The light came closer at an alarming speed and suddenly shut off in a bright flash when it was a feet from Knuckles. Knuckles was known for his nerves of steel and hardly flinched at the sight of E-107 Zeta; in fact, he couldn't help but smile.

"Another one of Eggman's corny robots" he jeered "This is an excellent chance to get a light sweat going."

Zeta showed no signs of amusement, just a strict desire to follow orders. He lifted the barrel of his machine gun and prepared to fire several volleys as Knuckles was stretching out his arms. In a panic, Knuckles quickly punched the watery surface of the floor and sent a large stone up to protect him. The bullets fired rapidly into the boulder, eating it away from the one side so quickly that Knuckles could feel it thinning. When he had a moment in between rounds, he leaped from behind the boulder and punched a crevice into the wall deep enough for him to hide in.

His skin tingled as he watched how closely the spray of bullets was to nicking his arm. He wasn't expecting a robot built by Eggman to be able to put up such an interesting fight. Using this sewage pipe was a strategic maneuver indeed, making it nearly impossible to dodge a foray from a machine gun. He waited for Zeta's gun to click again from an empty round and he charged the robot with full force. He was able to get in close and threw a punishing right jab that broke the machine gun into pieces!

As Knuckles let out a snide laugh, Zeta retaliated with his free hand and punched Knuckles downward into the floor, sending him reeling with a spray of blood flying from his head. He sat up and looked at his enemy of steel who was morphing his shattered gun into a makeshift blade. Things were getting dangerous, and in this closed setting, there was nary a way to dodge.

"I hate using this, but it looks like its necessary."

He wiped the blood off his forehand and flung it from his hand. His right arm began to glow with a green aura, empowered by a shard of the master emerald! It was a failsafe for the echidna, if he ever found himself in a pinch; this was how he got out of it. It also made for a handy security measure, keeping anyone who stole the emerald from using its full power unless they went through Knuckles himself.

Zeta charged Knuckles with his blade pulled back and Knuckles met his challenge. Knuckles launched first and hit the robot right between the eyes! Various pieces of metal flew from his face as it dented in and Knuckles used his momentum to continue pushing him back. Turning the punch into a charge, he forced Zeta all the way down the extension of the pipe until they collided into a wall. Zeta's head was crushed upon impact as he was forced through the wall with multiple chunks of stone sent sprawling through the air. Knuckles panted as he let the excess energy relax within his body. He looked down at the beheaded machine and took a moment to bow in acknowledgment. Worthy opponents were not common, whether they were a man or a machine.

He noticed he was standing in a beam of light and looked up to see a ladder leading to a valve on the ceiling. He climbed up the shaft and turned the handle on the door to let himself into the above room. The red echidna entered a room that was typical of an Eggman base: multiple computer screens, various beakers graduated cylinders filled with chemicals that could only be fathomed at how deadly they were. As he casually looked around, he spotted a first aid kit attached to the wall and he hurried over to it.

He opened a pack of gauze and bandages and as he was treating himself, noticed a computer screen that looked like an unfinished report. He tied his wraps and walked over to it to take a look.

"Project Evil Emerald is commencing well. I have harnessed a force within them that is equal to two times the negative energy of the chaos emeralds. Thus, with this power as the standard for these emeralds, regardless of whether the wielder of the chaos emeralds uses a positive or a negative force, it cannot exceed the power as caused by this double negative energy. After additional testing, the evil chaos emeralds should be able to defeat Sonic as planned."

The entry ended leaving Knuckles with a grim feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I knew Eggman hated Sonic, but to see how far he is willing to go to defeat him, it's so real it's scary."

The situation was more intense than Knuckles had wanted to believe which was what made him afraid the most. He tried to shake his head of his worry and he pulled himself from the monitor to go and rendezvous with Sonic. He noticed an open doorway but before he could pass through it, a green robot stepped before him.

"Intruder detected. Standard procedure engaged."

Just when Knuckles thought he was free of the E-Series, he had encountered E-120 Kappa. The green menace opened a panel in its chest and sprayed a cloud of purple gas around Knuckles. Before our hero could take action, he felt his limbs tingle and then fall limp as the rest of his body did; Knuckles had fallen unconscious.


	7. The True Nature of Evil

_**Chapter 6: The True Nature of Evil**_

Eggman grinned as the evil chaos emeralds began to float around him. Each jewel had its own gray aura as they encompassed the evil doctor. He released a yell from deep within his belly as the power of the gems manifested within his body. His moustache changed into a resilient yellow, arching upward at an obtuse angle. His red lab coat faded into a deep black with splotches of bright yellow appearing around his wrists and tracing lines all around his coat like neon lights. His glasses faded black and hid the exhilarating sensation he was feeling; the feeling of becoming more powerful.

Sonic took a step back with a concerned look on his face. Eggman had truly mastered a scary new form of power. It was like being a witness to apotheosis in the form of evil. Eggman folded his arms as he looked at Sonic, enshrined in a yellow wave.

Sonic's hand began to tingle with familiar warmth. He noticed the chaos emeralds glowing from his palm and he let the jewels instill their power within him. It was so normal to him by now, like embracing an old friend. He felt his whole body light up like a torch and radiate with a golden energy. The emeralds took refuge in his body as he stared down Eggman. He had recollected his usual calmness and was ready for this fierce new challenge.

"This is so exciting" wailed Eggman "Many a time have you defeated me in this form Sonic, but now, I will be able to challenge this form in hand to hand combat. I will be able to experience your power first hand."

Eggman made it sound like this was all just an experiment to him. Sonic's cocky grin returned to his face.

"You don't look so bad yourself egg belly" he teased "It's nice to know you've been spending your time efficiently."

"Of course" the wicked doctor sneered "Now it's time for a field test."

He turned himself away from the hedgehog and used his newfound power to accelerate into the air. He shattered through the window with his arms at his sides and raced off into the air. Sonic ignored the surprise he felt and chased off after the doctor. He flew towards Eggman, trying to keep up, but he could see the glow of Eggman's aura slowly disappear before him. The doctor was much faster than he was! Eggman stopped just after reaching the outskirts of Earth's atmosphere and faced his foe. Sonic stopped across from him, unsure of the strength he would be challenged by.

"Isn't it serene Sonic?" Eggman broke the silence "Space; this hollowness; is where we have battled so many times, and yet all existence seems ignorant to our competition. It's much more beautiful to witness without the need for my vehicles, it's a full body experience like I'm now powerful enough to accept its grace."

"Spare me the philosophy" spat the hedgehog "I didn't come here as a tourist. My only purpose is to stop you from abusing your power. Consider me the guy who's a check and balance to you."

Sonic smirked, knowing the truth in his words while Eggman scoffed.

"Maybe that has been true all these years, but this is where tradition ends Sonic. Here, I will bury you."

The intensity of Eggman's words fueled his ego as he charged Sonic and the hedgehog returned the same sentiment. They collided like two trains in space, locking elbows against one another.

A giant wave of energy exploded from their impact and Eggman broke the tussle. He forced Sonic back and then began a foray of punches. He was throwing them so quickly Sonic couldn't dodge all of them, taking several blows to the face. He countered with a swift kick that hit Eggman in the gut and made him bellow. Sonic brought his other leg around from the momentum and delivered a second kick to Eggman's face.

The doctor flew backwards but caught himself with his energy. He charged Sonic once more with a hunger for more action. He was so exhilarated to be fighting Sonic in this way that he ignored his pain. As he grew closer, Sonic chuckled as he let loose a volley of energy shots. The blasts were direct hits to Eggman and formed a cloud of golden smoke around him. Sonic put a hand to his hip and grinned until a black figure burst from the cloud, still continuing his assault! Sonic stammered then took a direct hit from Eggman's fist!

The punch was so hard that Sonic felt his vision blink in and out of total blackness. He was reeling and Eggman continued his vicious attacks: a fist in the belly, another to the face, and a kick to the stomach that left Sonic panting. As he looked up at the doctor, he felt an elbow drop rattle his neck and send him falling down through the subspace.

Sonic let out a cry in pain and caught himself before he fell too close to the Earth's gravity. He lifted himself back up to face Eggman who had his arms crossed and a confident smile. The doctor held out his hand and displayed four jagged shards of a gray gem. They disappeared before he closed his fist leaving Sonic to wonder what it meant. The makeshift daggers had moved so quickly they vanished and reappeared as they planted themselves into Sonic's back! He tried to cry out but it was muffled by the sound of him choking on his own blood.

The shards removed themselves and returned to Eggman's hand.

"I bet your little emeralds can't do this" he boasted.

Sonic glared angrily at the mad scientist, holding his stomach in an attempt to stay conscious from the pain. Eggman flew up to Sonic to take a better look at him. He wanted to study the hero when he was helpless, burn this image of Sonic into his memory before he finished him.

Sonic grunted and tried to punch him but the doctor was faster and lifted his leg to allow a kick from his heel to force the hedgehog downward. Sonic used what energy he could to catch himself just outside the atmosphere of the Earth. Eggman looked down on him, his hands glowing with a gray energy.

"If not for you hedgehog, I never would have pushed myself enough to reach this invention."

He nodded, trying to show a sign of respect that felt inappropriate to Sonic. The doctor readied a large blast in his palms that were encompassed by the entire set of evil chaos emeralds. The blue blur realized what was going to happen and readied a similar attack. The chaos emeralds were at his side yet again, ready to bring him victory.

"Please don't fail me" he whispered to them.

The doctor launched his blast with a malicious laugh as it descended towards his mortal enemy. Sonic screamed as he forced everything he had into that shot and it collided with Eggman's blast. Sonic was at a disadvantage as the blasts touched and was slowly being overcome by the energy. His arms were so tight, using every muscle in his body; his face cringed as he tried to breath during this state of tension. The gray blast crept upon him as it engulfed his sight, for the first time he felt an intense fear. It was so deep that he felt his heart whimper at the thought that he may actually die.

"Never again will you beat me!" screamed Eggman.

He forced a large amount of energy into the blast, releasing it on his part as the blast consumed the golden hero. The energy was pressed directly against Sonic's body, ripping at his skin and making him scream in pain. He stretched his arms out to try and get a grip on the blast but he had nothing left; he was going to lose.

The emeralds' power left his body and his undefeated golden form left him forever. The blast pushed him all the way down through the atmosphere, heading straight for the Leaf Forest. It looked like a comet as it collided with the forest floor and erupted in a force of energy so great it shook the entire area violently.

The maniacal inventor laughed insanely into the darkness of space. His soul was consumed with an overwhelming feeling of power; it was so intoxicating he had to wipe foam from the side of his mouth. After so many years of struggling, he had won. This wasn't justice or blind luck, he believed this was destiny.


	8. Cream, Amy, and Cheese Unite!

**Joe97**: Hey everybody, hope you're enjoying the story so far. Just a fair warning, my laptop is on the verge of crashing so there may be a small hiatus until I can get a new one. Don't worry; I'm determined to keep updating regularly. On a side note, I posted a poem about Robotnik so check my profile if you wanna give it a read. =)

_**Chapter 7: Cream, Amy, and Cheese Unite!**_

At Tails' workshop, Cream and Amy were sitting outside on the steps of the shop. The day was dull, Tails had stepped out to run a few errands, leaving the girls to stare at the sky and watch the clouds.

"That one reminds me of Cheese" cheered Cream.

She pointed to a large cloud that was droplet shaped, resembling the chao's head.

"What do you see in the clouds?" she asked.

Amy was daydreaming into the blueness of the sky, the color that reminded her so much of her hero. She watched a series of clouds move together to form one shape. Three long, thin clouds pushed themselves into the back of a round one, making the shape of Sonic's head. She just sighed at Cream's question.

"Nothing in particular" she lied.

Just then, a loud crash was heard and the two girls looked over at the launch pad to see a cloud of dust rise up from the impact. They moved closer to try and get a better look with Amy placing a hand before Cream to warn her not to go any further. As the dust settled, a figure of yellow steel emerged with the title "E-109" printed on it. It was Theta, naturally, coming to fulfill his duty.

The robot scanned the two girls standing before him.

"Scan indicates hedgehog and rabbit are no threat, however still an obstacle to be destroyed. Eliminate at once."

Cream started to pull away when Amy grabbed her arm.

"I don't like this either, but we don't have a choice here. Tails is out and we're the only ones who can defend the Mystic Ruins."

Cream swallowed her fear and nodded.

"I'll do my best Amy."

"Of course" Amy smiled at her "You just follow my lead and watch out for anything funny."

The girls had seen more action than they had participated in but they weren't going to allow the ruins to sustain any more damage than it already had. Their horns were still green but together they felt they could outwit the metal menace.

They pulled back from their position and moved closer to the workshop. Amy quickly ran to the steps to retrieve her hammer before rejoining Cream. Theta closed the gap between them and before he could attack, Amy broke the silence. She charged Theta and swung her hammer at him only to have it miss. The robot had pulled back from the attack and leaped right over Amy's head!

He stared down Cream who was terrified by his height; he had several feet on her easy. He pulled back his fist and attempted to throw a right hook but hit nothing but air. Cheese had seen the danger and grabbed Cream by the collar of her shirt, pulling her out of the way.

The beige rabbit smiled at her little friend and thanked him. The robot stepped forward for another attack but was knocked away by Amy's hammer! He bounced several feet down the launch pad before he was able to right himself. She charged the yellow sentient yet again and began piling up a combination of hits. She landed multiple hammer strikes to his head and arm and gave him a decent kick to the torso. His metal coating had several dents and began to show signs of wear when he stooped down and then rose up in a blast of energy!

The force sent Amy reeling back into her rabbit friend and they both hit the ground. The robot flashed a rainbow of colors before encasing himself in a blue barrier. The pink hedgehog gained confidence with every hit she delivered and got herself up and ready for an attack. She stood up before Theta and using her foot to control her power, let her weight follow through with a heavy hammer swing. When the hammer made contact with Theta's barrier, it was like hitting a brick wall with your fast and stunned Amy.

"Nuisance" droned the man of steel.

He clasped Amy's throat with his hand and lifted her up off of her feet. She struggled and flailed, trying to remove his hand from her neck but to no avail. Cream saw what was happening and knew she had to act. She shook the nerves from her hands and raced towards Theta. She hit him with her fists as hard as she could but it didn't even move the large robot.

He turned to look at the rabbit then used his free hand to slap her away. She fell to the ground with a bruise on her cheek, stinging so deeply it made her eyes tear up. Cheese squealed at the sight of the fallen Cream and flew in to help his friends. He flailed his little arms against Theta, the only impact he made was the sound of his hands against the hollow steel.

Theta continued to punish the group. He grabbed Cheese by the neck and threw him against the ground, making the poor chao bounce along the ground. He slid to a stop in the dirt, unable to get up. Cream rushed to his side.

"Cheese" she said worriedly "Are you alright?"

The tiny blue creature coughed before he lost consciousness. Cream picked him up and cradled him in her arms. Cheese was her friend for as long as she could remember and she had never seen him like this. He had scratches across his face and body and a small wound on his arm. There was a trickle of blood running down from his temple, a sight that seemed blasphemous in itself. She set him down on the steps outside the workshop and brushed her tears aside. Now, she was angry.

Never before in her life had she felt such a maddening rage. It was so hot it made more tears well up in her eyes and she thought they might evaporate before they hit the ground. She charged the robot with intent to kill in her mind. She jumped up above the robot and used her ears to gain a bit of extra altitude. Amy saw this and sluggishly swung her arm to release her hammer into the air. Cream caught the hammer in midair, letting it glow bright red with energy.

She pulled the mallet down through the air as hard as she could, crashing into Theta's head and pounding him with such a force that his head sank down into his torso! His grip instantly released on Amy and she fell to the ground. Theta buzzed and whirred, glowing with purple electricity. Cream helped her friend to her feet and they both took cover from the unstable robot. Theta shined with white light before he detonated, leaving nothing but cinders and a black circle of ash where he stood.

Cream helped her friends inside where they tended to their wounds. Cheese was wrapped in several bandages and placed in Tails' bed. The two girls watched him sleeping there peacefully.

"Thank you for saving me" noted Amy "You really came through for us."

"I should be thanking you, Amy. If you didn't lend me your hammer I don't know what I would've done."

"Speaking of which, how did you pull of that attack? I didn't know my hammer could do such a thing."

"I don't know" mulled Cream "I felt it grow inside my heart, like it was what I needed to do to save my friends. After I saw Cream get hurt, I just lost it. He's been with me since I was born and he would do anything to help me; but to see him lying there, covered in bruises, it was too much to bear."

She started to cry again and Amy hugged her.

"It's ok" she comforted "That awful robot is gone and everyone is safe. You did the right thing Cream, I'm sure of it."

Amy hid her concern from her friend, not wanting to make the situation worse. If this was just one robot sent from Eggman, imagine what kind of devastation would be awaiting Sonic and Knuckles.

"Oh Sonic" she murmured "Please be careful."


	9. Both Sides Regroup

_**Chapter 8: Both Sides Regroup**_

Knuckles awoke some time later and looked around. He was back on the Floating Island.

"What happened?" he pondered.

His hand was glowing with a green aura and it brought a smirk to his face. He realized what had happened. When he fell unconscious before Kappa, the master emerald shard in his hand reacted. As guardian of the emerald, Knuckles had a unique bond with the power within it. The shard used its power to protect Knuckles by removing him from harm's way. The shards of the emerald act like a teleport link and can be brought back to the site of the master emerald but only to certain entities. This phenomenon is what had just transpired, saving Knuckles' life.

He said a silent prayer to himself, thanking the emerald and his ancestors. As he opened his eyes, he saw a large gray ball of energy that was forcing itself into the atmosphere. He watched as it pushed through the clouds and plummeted to the ground like a meteorite. As it collided into the forest, the ground quaked and released a moan that displayed the Earth's pain from the impact. The light released from the collision was so bright it reached all the way beyond the Floating Island.

Knuckles covered his eyes and when the light passed, he felt the panic hit his gut.

"I need to check this out!"

He hurried over to the Leaf Forest and arrived at the edge of a crater. It was massive, easily 50 meters in diameter. Knuckles slid down into the crater to observe the site more closely. He felt as if he was inside some kind of a huge bowl like in a giant's kitchen. Upon closer observation of the center point, he saw what looked like a hand half buried in the dirt. He brushed it off to see that it was a hand indeed! He clasped it and pulled it tight, removing a blue hedgehog from the Earth. To his surprise, he had found an unconscious Sonic, battered and bruised.

"Oh my God!" he wailed "This is not good at all!"

He pulled Sonic's arm over his shoulder and dragged his limp body back to Tails' workshop. He was met with an array of panic upon opening the door.

"Sonic!" cried Amy, rushing over. She took a closer look at him, noticing all of his wounds and the dirt that covered his body. Her eyes welled up as she watched Knuckles take him to a spare bed.

"Give him some space Amy" Knuckles parented "He need to rest."

Despite his words, Amy sat at his side, refusing to move until he awoke. Knuckles shook his head and went to explain what happened to Tails and the others. All they could do for the time being was wait for Sonic to wake up.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Elsewhere, the Eggman was caught in a torrent of his own rage. He was smashing glass beakers and throwing papers from his desk before tipping it over. As he panted and tried to cool the heat in his head, he turned back to a computer monitor. He had noticed a decrease in the power of the evil emeralds after his battle with Sonic. There was a glass case near the monitor that held one of the emeralds in it. The screen displayed various stats about the scan, including a power rating on the emerald which was at 35%.

"This can't be!" he cried "I put everything I had into those emeralds! The research was flawless, every last possibility exhausted."

This turn of events discouraged Eggman deeply. He had tasted power; he felt what it was like to be Sonic every time he earned a victory. He discovered the fountain of youth and he didn't just take a sip from it, he plunged his entire head into it.

"I have to find a power source that can fuel my emeralds beyond their normal capabilities. As far as I know, there is no way to manufacture such an energy, but if I can find something more natural" he turned to look at a flow chart of the emeralds, which stemmed from a large emerald at the top "then maybe I can finally become a true god."

"Even Gods have their faults" a strange voice clamored. Eggman turned around and watched a purple weasel emerge from the shadows. He had a cowboy hat and a vest and boots to match. There was a gun in his holster and a grin on his face that was as pointy as his tail.

"Maybe I can help you. My name is Nack the Weasel." He walked closer to Eggman who was a few feet taller than him. "I want to get a hold of the master emerald myself, how about we make a deal?"

"Go on" persisted the doctor.

"I steal the emerald and use what I want from it, and then I leave the rest for you."

"I like the way you think my little friend, but how do I know you won't betray me?"

"When I say I'm going to do something, I continue with it until I succeed."

"Very well" the doctor concluded "Welcome to the Eggman family."

The two of them shook hands, solidifying the sinister intentions in their hearts. Eggman pointed across the room to another door.

"Go through there and you will find several of my flying machines. Pick whichever one you like and get that emerald as soon as possible."

Nack nodded and left in that direction. Eggman smiled to himself as he turned back to the flow chart before him.

"Fool" he chuckled "All you are doing is saving me time. I'll finish my preparations by the time he returns and then I will see to it that all of those little animals are silenced for good."

Eggman could feel his mind expanding as the schematics began to form in his head. He felt the power of a god once and now he was permanently inebriated.


	10. To Instigate A Weasel

_**Chapter 9: To Instigate A Weasel**_

Sonic began to stir several hours later and when he finally opened his eyes, he saw Amy at his side in the dark room.

"Amy…? Where am I?"

Amy looked up at him; her head was rested against his hand. Her face was covered in tears that had dried against her cheeks.

"Oh, Amy" he comforted.

He pulled her close and gave her a hug. Often times, Sonic would neglect Amy's feelings, but what he didn't know was how eaten up she was on in the inside every time things got dangerous. This hug; he owed her that much.

"Go and tell the others, ok?" he whispered.

She nodded and left the room, wiping her face off. She returned with a yellow fox and a red echidna. Cream was absent, still at Cheese's bedside, not wanting to be disturbed.

"Nice to see you're awake" Knuckles jeered "You're too stubborn to die you know that?"

"The only one who has a harder head would be you Knuckles" teased Sonic.

"What exactly happened up there?" asked Tails.

"I don't know. Eggman has some kind of emeralds all to his own; I think it's something he invented. This will sound crazy, but they had this power that seemed to feed off of Eggman's evil intentions. It was like the more he enjoyed hurting me, the more powerful he grew."

Tails put a hand to his chin, racking his brain over the possibilities.

"Whatever it was" concluded the hedgehog "It was strong enough to beat me. I can't stand up to Eggman like this."

"Eggman must be studying the polarity of the emeralds" Tails thought aloud "He must know a way to equate a charge from the emerald to his personality, but that's just unreal. I can't imagine anyone being smart enough to do that."

"Well believe it; it's real enough to knock me down from outer space."

"I normally don't like to advertise my emeralds" Knuckles butt in "But the master emerald has a power that is unlike the chaos emeralds. Perhaps if you use them together Sonic, they would be enough to overcome that mad doctor."

"I'm game for anything at this point and it's not like we have any other options right now."

Sonic climbed up out of bed, testing his body. He had a few bruises, but escaped the collision with virtually no harm.

"It's a miracle I'm still alive" he thought aloud.

The chaos emeralds cast a dim glow in his hand.

"Then it is true" Tails chimed in "The emeralds have some kind of connection to their user, that would explain why Eggman became stronger and stronger. He must have created a type of gem that has an energy specifically designed to fuel his evil nature; incredible."

"If that's the case, then we need to stop him at all costs before this gets out of hand."

Sonic looked back at his hand one more time.

"That still leaves me with one more question, how was I able to survive that collision? He hit me with a blast of energy that forced me through the atmosphere and into the forest. I shouldn't be here right now."

"You've used those emeralds many times" added Knuckles "You must have some kind of special bond with those gems. They may've sensed the danger you were in and used their energy to save you. "

"It almost sounds like they wanted to protect me."

"Maybe so" agreed Knuckles "But now that you're up, we should get ourselves ready; who knows when Eggman may attack again."

"Right" nodded Sonic.

The red and blue colleagues waved to the others as they headed out the door and made their way to the Floating Island. They arrived on the island in no time, with Sonic following Knuckles for a change. Sonic stopped as Knuckles did.

"What's up?" he asked.

"There's something up there" said Knuckles, pointing at the sky.

A faint black dot was moving closer at a quick pace.

"What is that?" the blue blur wondered.

As the dot came into view, it was none other than Nack the Weasel; flying in one of Eggman's small flying pods. He cackled a nasally laugh as he descended beside the master emerald. The two heroes ran up to the base of the shrine and stared him down.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" spat Knuckles.

"Of course not!" whined the weasel "I'm here to claim what's rightfully mine."

"That's what they all say and you're the least deserving."

Nack shook his fist in anger, his purple face glowing red.

"I will become powerful and I'll show you Knuckles!"

He climbed into the pod and flew above the emerald. He revealed a claw that descended down and clasped the gem.

"No you don't!" Knuckles contended.

Knuckles jumped up, ready to tear the cord with his claws as a jolt of electricity passed through him. He fell to the ground, stunned from his efforts. Sonic saw this and ran up, using the edge of the shrine as a platform; he leaped into the air to meet face to face with Nack who was ready for the attack. He fired his trademark pop gun right in Sonic's face, knocking him down. He landed on Knuckles and the two of them wrestled to get back up and by the time they did, the Weasel was too far away to catch.

"Outsmarted by a weasel" complained Sonic.

"I guess that's what we get for underestimating him" said Knuckles honestly.

"So what are we supposed to do now?"

Knuckles looked down at the area where the master emerald was sitting. There was a carving of the master emerald with a set of seven gems beneath it, along with another seven.

"I never took the time to look under here" he stated "It looks like there are two sets of chaos emeralds here. The bottom row must be the chaos emeralds, I recognize their shape, but I've never seen the top set before."

He noticed various markings that resembled the written language of the echidna tribe. He read it over and took a minute to ponder their meaning.

"What does this mean?" inquired Sonic.

"It says here that this row represents what are called the Super Emeralds. Apparently there is a way of unlocking a deeper power within the chaos emeralds, causing them to transform into this other set here."

"That's perfect" cheered the blue hero "But just how are we supposed to do that anyway?"

"I'm not sure. The writing mentions something about a place called The Hidden Palace but I don't know if that's where we would find this power."

"It's better than nothing and it's our only lead."

"Yeah, you're right."

Knuckles thought to himself for a moment. He was slightly annoyed at the fact that he had missed such a relevant piece of information right under his nose but he didn't let that bother him. He remembered a day when he was younger, playing in the jungle with another echidna and they discovered a dark corridor that led to another area. He mentioned the area to his parents but was shunned for having gone near the place.

"Don't leave me hanging" Sonic broke the silence "Let me know what you're thinking."

"I found this corridor in the jungle when I was a kid. I was forbidden from entering so it makes me wonder if that is where the hidden palace could be."

"It's worth a try."

Knuckles nodded and the two of them raced off into the jungle. The giant leaves of the canopy rustled as the two sped by, hurrying towards the scent of adventure. After entering into the darker part of the forest, they arrived at the area from Knuckles' childhood.

"This is it" he said with a smile "I've always wanted to go in here."

"Looks pretty cool" commented Sonic "Let's do this!"

They headed down the corridor, the lighting slowly dimming as they entered into a small cave like area. They happened upon a large stone door that barred they're entry. The center of the door held a tiny diamond shaped hole beneath the carving of the master emerald. Knuckles chuckled to himself, understanding the encryption, and took the shard of the master emerald from his hand and placed it in the door.

The stone barrier rumbled and spurred, rustling dust from its face before slowly sliding open. Sonic started to enter when Knuckles blocked him with his arm.

"I need to do this alone" he said seriously.

"That's crazy!" clamored Sonic "Let me help you!"

"No, this test is for me, to prove I have what it takes to be the guardian of the master emerald. I'm taking this as a personal challenge Sonic, please let me do this."

Sonic wrestled with his feelings before finally nodding.

"Good luck buddy, I believe in you."

The two of them exchanged thumbs up signs before parting ways. Sonic's thoughts clouded his head as he ran back to Tails' workshop.

"He has a lot of guts. I think he takes his work a little too seriously but it only proves that he's the real deal; he's a true guardian of the master emerald."


	11. Iota and Kappa Attack!

**Joe97: **Hey there everybody. Just wanted to take a moment to thank all those who are taking the time to read my story, I really appreciate it. If you'd like to make me really happy, leave a review. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, how the story could've been better, the whole shebang. I consider all criticism important so make your opinion known.

_**Chapter 10: Iota and Kappa Attack!**_

Sonic returned to Tails' workshop and informed them of the developments.

"That stupid Nack" whined Amy "He needs a life."

"At least we can still rely on the super emeralds" stated Tails "It's too bad Knuckles had to go alone."

"Yeah" added Sonic "He's really brave to tackle something like that by himself, besides with the way Eggman has been attacking lately, who knows what could be next."

A television set was sitting on a work bench with various tools beside it. The normal broadcast was humming along normally until a news bulletin cut the local programming. A newscaster with an abnormally large afro was reporting and was covered in sweat; he appeared to be very anxious.

"We interrupt this program to bring you an emergency bulletin."

The others heard the change in pace and moved closer to view the TV.

"Moments ago, two robots appeared in Station Square and began destroying everything in their path! Police attempted to corner the sentient men but were unable to stop the perpetrators. They were last seen outside the hotel when…"

The newscaster let out a frightened cry as the room he was in filled with smoke; then the channel became static.

"We gotta get over there!" shouted Sonic.

"But the train is still out" countered Amy.

"We'll take the Tornado 2; Tails and I will stop those metallic morons."

He nodded. "It'll be just like old times."

Sonic grabbed the chaos emeralds and the two of them hopped in the plane with the engine revving loudly like an angry bear. The sound of it roaring made the memories echo inside their head. Sonic could almost taste the excitement he felt when they took off after the Egg Carrier. It was moments like these that made his friendship with Tails feel even more special. The plane whizzed off down the launch pad with Amy and Cream waving them goodbye.

They arrived at Station Square some time later and were not greeted to a happy sight.

"This place is trashed!" clamored Sonic.

Various buildings were missing windows or showed signs of structural damage along their sides. Several trees had caught fire and were burnt to a crisp. Multiple cars had wrecked into one another, leaving long skid marks behind them. They came to a landing and Sonic jumped down from the tail of the plane.

"Where are those metal heads? I want a fight!"

As if to answer his request, a sphere of purple energy cascaded towards him.

"Watch out!" screamed Tails.

Sonic leaped out of the way in the nick of time but in doing so he threw his body into the stone wall of the hotel. He took a rough hit to his head but shook it off as he stood. He didn't have time for pain when there was danger like this to be dealt with. He looked up at two robots, flying across from them.

"These guys are serious Tails" he stated "We need to take them out fast."

"I've got a lock on them." Tails' scanner on the Tornado 2 brought interesting information to light.

"They each have a shard of the master emerald implanted in them."

"Of course" complained Sonic "This means Eggman has the master emerald; it keeps getting worse and worse!"

The conversation was interrupted by E-110 Iota who flew at Sonic while firing his machine gun. Sonic ran off, leading the blue machine and his gunfire away from Tails. The blue blur was able to easily stay ahead of the line of fire.

"Is that all you got?" he taunted.

The robot buzzed and spoke technical jumbo as its gun arm transformed into a larger weapon which fired a larger magazine at a faster rate. Sonic danced around and tried to outrun the volley but was unable to find room for a counterattack.

Things on Tails' end were not as easy either. E-120 Kappa was hot on his case, using his ability to teleport to confuse the poor fox. He was a flying model; built in a rounder shape than the others in the series and had a large propeller spinning from his torso at all times. Tails has transformed the Tornado 2 into its battle mode and kept maneuvering his turret to try and get a lock but he was unable to. As he appeared around Tails, he left a set of glowing orbs that acted as mines, slowly confining Tails into one space.

Kappa appeared a few feet in front of the orange fox who was now completely surrounded by air mines! A panel in his chest opened up to reveal the master emerald shard within his body. The energy from the emerald followed an electric signal through several cables and into a cannon that manifested before the shard. Its tip glistened purple as it began to fill up with energy.

Tails readied his own cannon, knowing well of the danger but having little choice in the matter. He fired his blast as soon as it was ready, a few seconds before Kappa's. They met in a deadlock, with Tails' blast having an advantage. He knew what he had to do; like ripping off a band-aid.

He gave his blast more power, enough to overcome Kappa and land a deadly blow to the chest of the metal man. The purple mech was sent spiraling down through the air leaving a trail of gray smoke. The success did not come without a price. The force of the blast pushed Tails back so far he collided with one of the mines behind him. The impact from that blast sent him reeling back forth into other mines, like a silver ball in a pinball machine. The Tornado 2 was finally pushed through an opening in the mine field and spun violently through the air. When the fighting machine crashed into the ground, there was a good chance of it exploding.

He fought desperately to remove his seat belt, being thrown into the air as it came loose. He caught himself with his Tails, hovering in the air as he watched the Tornado 2 crash into the ground. To his relief it did not explode but take some heavy damage including a broken wing. As he took a moment to breath he felt a hard material pound into his back! Kappa had recovered enough to charge his body weight into Tails, knocking the poor fox out of the sky! He slammed into the wall of one of the buildings and fell straight down into a pile of trash.

The cans clanked and old papers rustled as his body joined them. He lifted himself to a seated position, his stomach turning when he noticed a strange liquid on his arm. He looked up to see Kappa drift down to the ground; his chest had melted around the large hole it contained. Blue sparks jumped to life as the struggling robot made his way over to the fox.

"You killed Eta…" said Kappa in a strangely human voice "I will…avenge him…"

Tails was frozen in his thoughts as Kappa pointed a gun at Tails' head. Never before had he seen such a consciousness exist in a robot, especially one of Dr. Eggman's.

"This must be a side effect of the master emerald shard" he thought in his fear.

Elsewhere, Sonic had found a free moment between the bullets of Iota's gun. He jumped in the air and performed his homing attack to knock the robot away. Just as Sonic started to relax, he saw what was happening with Tails. He rushed over as fast as he could, unleashing a powerful spin dash that ripped through Kappa, spraying pieces of metal into the air!

"Are you ok?" offered Sonic as he extended his hand.

"Look out!" wailed the fox.

Iota had recovered and threw a fist into Sonic's face that was laced with green energy! Sonic was knocked off his feet and landed beside Tails in the garbage. He sat up on his arms, his face aching from the attack. He looked up at Iota who was already preparing another attack with the laser in his chest.


	12. Silent Foe in the Sanctuary

_**Chapter 11: Silent Foe in the Sanctuary**_

Knuckles had entered the Hidden Palace; he made his way through the entrance, following several arrows that were carved into the wall. At the end of the trail was a red sphere encased in a circular platform. He approached it and stood upon it, feeling his body tingle with a warm light as he was teleported from the room. He appeared at the start of a long hallway that had another teleporter at its end. He ran down the corridor to the next teleporter when he slammed face first into an invisible wall.

Knuckles stumbled backwards and held his nose in pain. He wasn't expecting that at all! He turned around to face the other entrance but remembered his past mistake. He grabbed a nearby pebble and flung it in the previous direction, watching as another invisible wall deflected the stone. Both walls had become visible after the impacts, revealing a sheet of yellow electricity that flowed through them. He had a bad feeling about all of this, what kind of trap had he walked into?

As Knuckles took a moment to ponder, he turned around to meet the eyesight of a robotic clone! The robot was designed just like him, with a dark area around his neon green eyes and long claws for fingers. Across his lower torso were the initials "M. K." which stood for Metal Knuckles. Before Knuckles could fully absorb what was happening, Metal connected with a right hook to Knuckles' jaw. The echidna stumbled backwards and brushed off his chin, readying himself. He climbed up the wall and leaped off, spiraling downward with his fists. Metal dodged the attack and the hole that was created in the floor.

Knuckles continued his assault with an array of fists to his silent foe. The red robot danced in between the punches as he noticed the master emerald shard in Knuckles' hand. He was so distracted he took one of the hits and skid backwards. He stopped himself, his eyes still intent on the shard. He charged Knuckles, catching him off guard, and tackled him to the ground. He clenched Knuckles' wrist, nearly crushing it within his metallic palms. The red echidna screamed from the pain, feeling his bones threaten to give in. The shard of the master emerald popped out from his hand and went spinning into the air.

Metal leaped off of Knuckles and caught the shard in midair. He immediately began glowing with a green aura. Knuckles stood up, his arm still throbbing, and felt panic eat at his stomach. His foe was ready to clench his victory! He charged Knuckles, his hands spinning like an open blender, swinging them violently at him. Knuckles was able to stay ahead of the attacks but not for long. He was slowly forced back towards the wall that was tingling with electrical currents. In a moment of desperation, he grabbed onto Metal's head, using it to somersault over him and as he landed, kicked Metal into the barrier causing him to short circuit!

He popped and hissed with blue energy and fell to the ground as the barriers wore off. He was steaming with gray smoke as his body contorted on the floor. Knuckles collected the shard from him and hurried out of the room and onto the teleporter but did not witness Metal as his body was also teleported from the room.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The light left Knuckles' body as he appeared in another room. There was an open doorway before him leading outside and he stepped out into the sunlight. He had appeared in a large sanctuary that was hanging mysteriously in the sky. The area was huge and had many platforms and walkways that had moss growing along its yellow stones. As he looked around, a glint of sunlight attacked his eyes, making him wince.

He carefully peered into the origin of the light and saw Metal, standing high up on one of platforms with his steel body reflecting the light from the sun. Knuckles growled and began climbing up one of the pillars to get closer to the menace. Metal glided after him and attempted to crash into him. Knuckles slid downward a bit and dodged the attack, watching as Metal slammed into the pillar, breaking the top off! Metal climbed downwards at Knuckles, his eyes staring blankly into him.

Knuckles punched him in the face several times but did not faze the robot. Metal grabbed Knuckles by the face, his grasp tightening around his eyes and then threw the echidna across the sanctuary. Knuckles landed on a platform, rolling around and holding his eyes from the incredible pain. He sat up and looked at Metal, feeling a deep fire roar in his gut. Metal leaped off the pillar and aimed another gliding attack at Knuckles. Knuckles returned the gesture, yelling out loud as the emerald shard within him glowed.

The two collided and Knuckles won the tussle. Metal was sent spinning backwards and crashed into a fountain. His body contorted yet again, outmatched by a typical robot's weakness. He looked up at Knuckles as he approached, the echidna's body shining with a green aura. Metal splashed some water on Knuckles, confusing the hero. He then leaped upon him, his short circuiting body using Knuckles as a conductor! Knuckles screamed in pain as Metal yet again forced the emerald shard from his hand.

He quickly used the power to unleash an array of punches that sent Knuckles to the ground. Metal stood above him, staring down with victory in his eyes from the quick thinking he had produced, but instead of finishing Knuckles, he turned away and leaped across several platforms. Knuckles lifted his head to try and keep an eye on his foe, his neck aching from the strain.

Metal approached the center of the sanctuary, where a glowing orb was resting. He turned to look at Knuckles one more time as he slammed a fist with a green aura into it; shattering it. The entire area began to rumble, quaking so violently that the fountains collapsed into themselves. Knuckles watched as Metal began working his way up to higher ground, arriving at a teleporter at the highest point and vanishing away into it. Knuckles managed to sit himself up as nearby platforms were crumbling.

He needed to find a way out quickly. He looked for the nearest teleporter and saw the room where he had first entered from. As he got himself to his feet, he took a few steps towards it only to watch as it rumbled into pebbles. The only way he could escape would be to follow in Metal's footsteps. His body was aching, his muscles sore and confused from the electrical signals that shot through them. He swallowed his pain and pressed his body to its best, slowly keeping out of harm's way.

He shuffled up walkways and climbed up a few pillars as the nearby terrain would disappear behind him. He felt a looming fear in the back of his mind scream every time a foothold would start to give way. He pulled himself atop a tower, smiling to himself as he looked at the final walkway. He gave a decent effort to his jog but was not good enough. The walkway fell apart as he stood on it, his foothold lost into the sky!

He caught himself before he fell and glided along the crumbling path, trying to beat it to the teleporter. He landed before it as the final platform shuttered into nothingness. With a flash of light he disappeared from the sanctuary as it disappeared from the world.


	13. Deadly Developments

**Note: **I made two very small edits to Chapters 9 and 10 so the chaos emeralds would be with Sonic at this point.

_**Chapter 12: Deadly Developments**_

Sonic felt his instincts tug at his heart. He knew they were in danger but he couldn't find the drive to stand up, his head still rumbling from the pain. He winced as he looked into the glow of Iota's cannon when suddenly he witnessed a spinning purple and black figure emerge from the distance. It looked like a drill as it twirled through the sky and aimed itself right for Iota! The cobalt machine picked up on the energy signal and turned around, taking a direct strike from the make shift drill!

Sonic covered his face as shards of blue metal were flung at him. He shielded his eyes until he felt the wind coming from the drill stop. He lowered his arms to look upon his savior, and it was none other than Rouge the Bat! Sonic and Tails wailed in unison.

"You sound happy to see me."

The two of them struggled to their feet as they continued the conversation.

"Where did you come from?" asked Tails.

"I heard a lot of commotion as I entered the city and decided to check it out. I saw you two were in trouble and here I am. What exactly is going on anyway?"

Sonic explained the current events.

"So Eggman is that powerful huh?"

The blue blur nodded.

"Things sure get serious in a hurry around here. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah, can you give me and Tails a lift back to the Mystic Ruins? The train is out and I doubt Tails can fly in his condition."

"Of course I can Sonic, I…"

Tails attempted to get some momentum beneath his tails but gave out from the strain.

"Don't push yourself too hard, it's no trouble at all really."

She glanced over at the Tornado 2 and saw the damage it was in.

"I really did get here just in time. You guys must have Death really stressed out the way you tease him all the time."

She saw the joke was misplaced and cleared her throat.

"But anyway, we should be going. I'm only strong enough to carry one of you at a time though."

"Take Tails" voted Sonic "I can wait here."

Tails tried to protest but Sonic wouldn't have it. He finally agreed and took Rouge's hands as she lifted him into the air. Sonic watched as they disappeared into sky, his body feeling weak once again. He rested on one knee and let his thoughts fill up with the fight once more. Iota was moving fast and he was stronger than any robot Eggman had ever sent after him. Never before had he seen Eggman's efforts be so serious, so full of evil that he actually wanted to physically destroy Sonic the Hedgehog.

It was difficult to absorb the reality of it all, but Sonic rose to his feet once more. He knew his friends were counting on him and if he didn't stop Eggman, his friends would be next to be harmed. It took a real hero to fill his shoes, but this time the shoes felt like they were made of concrete. Shaking off his fear, Sonic tried to be productive. He remembered Tails mentioning the master emerald shards in the two robots.

"Knuckles may need these later" he thought.

He began searching around the area for the shards and found them amongst different piles of rubble. Without giving it much thought, he absorbed the emerald shards into his right hand for safe keeping. He paused for a moment, feeling an uneasy thought come to the surface in his mind. Before he could realize it, his body began to ache deeply, changing colors at a rapid pace. He felt a surge of energy lift him from his feet, the pain so deep he could barely keep control of his senses. Several words from Knuckles echoed in the back of his mind.

"Whatever you do, don't absorb two different types of emeralds into the same arm. It doesn't distribute their energies correctly and they will clash for dominance inside of you, with deadly results."

Sonic's fear couldn't outweigh his agony as a bright light exploded from his body and illuminated the entire city! His screams had fallen on deaf ears behind the veil of light. When it faded, Sonic lay on the ground unconscious, unaware of what had happened to his body.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Elsewhere, at Eggman's fortress, he was working diligently on his improvements to the evil emeralds. Several shards of the master emerald lay beside him on the table as he used a welding tool to burn a hole in one of the evil emeralds. Nack entered the room with a displeased look on his face.

"This isn't what we agreed to" he complained "I'm supposed to have first dibs on that emerald."

"Ah yes" smiled the doctor as he lifted his face mask "I was so excited to work on my invention that I couldn't contain myself. But now that I've had time to think it over, I believe it is in our best interest to null our agreement."

He flashed a devilish grin as two robots appeared beside Nack. Eggman flicked his fingers at them and the guards grabbed Nack by the arms and dragged him away; kicking and screaming. Returning to his work, Eggman cackled to himself.

"Tricking that fool was all too easy. It's like the fly trying to negotiate with the spider."

His joy was all too much as he finished closing the seal on the last evil emerald. He held it up before him, savoring the image of a gray gem with a green shard at its center. He had spent years fighting with those animals and now he would pull his dream into reality; unlimited power and Robotnikland as his kingdom.

Meanwhile, deep in the prison cells of Eggman's fortress, a certain purple weasel was very upset.

"That louse!" he cried "I might be a thief, but I would never go back on my word! No way am I gonna sit around in here!"

He pressed a button on his wristwatch, emitting a red laser that began to sear into the steel bars.

"I'll bust out of here in no time and that fat ass will pay for locking me up in here!"


	14. Nack Strikes Back!

_**Chapter 13: Nack Strikes Back!**_

Rouge's wings were hard at work, carrying the injured fox back to his workshop. They landed on the dusty ground to meet the rest of the group and Cream with an upset look on her face. She turned away quickly and ran back inside the workshop. Tails knew how sensitive she was, and seeing him in a situation where he had to hold Rouge's hands, didn't help things; although, he never pegged her for the jealous type.

"Thanks Rouge" he said quickly as he hurried after Cream.

"Poor kid, Cream will be mad at him for a while" she thought "Sometimes my looks can cause trouble for other people too."

She chuckled to herself and she leaped into the air and left for Station Square. She flew to the pile of garbage where she first found Sonic but he was no longer there.

"That's strange, he's not here."

She started looking around, calling his name as if he were some kind of lost dog. She noticed a strange glow coming from beside one of the buildings and moved closer to investigate. To her horror she found Sonic lying unconscious on the ground, his body emanating an array of different colors. She was careful as she wrapped her arms around him, afraid his condition could be contagious, but it did not deter her. She lifted his body and flew as quickly as she could with him back to the Mystic Ruins.

She reached the workshop moments later and hurried inside.

"Come quick!" she wailed "Something is wrong with Sonic!"

Everyone gathered around her as she laid Sonic on a bed.

"What happened?" clamored Amy.

"I don't know. I just found him lying there when I got back. He wasn't like this when the first time I got there."

Tails entered the room, finishing tightening a wrap on his arm. He shrieked at first but regained his calm as he walked over to look at Sonic's body. As he looked closer, he noticed that Sonic's right palm would change color first before the rest of his body would follow. Tails held his own hand close and drew out the chaos emeralds as well as the two master emerald shards.

"It seems the two types of emeralds were fighting for control inside of Sonic's body" he stated "Knuckles told me about it once, but I didn't think I would ever see it happen. There doesn't seem to be anything we can do for him right now. I'm going to go run some tests."

Tails left the room with the emeralds and Amy followed her instincts to Sonic's bedside. She sat down next to him, his hand in hers, and began to cry against his chest.

"It's like a never ending cycle" she wept "Sonic, please don't die on me."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Elsewhere, another calamity was taking place. The loudspeaker in Eggman's fortress was being blown up by the sound of his own voice.

"Nack has escaped!" he wailed "Find that weasel!"

Nack's cell had a circle shape carved into the bars and a renegade weasel. He was hiding behind a stack of steel pipes as several robots stormed past. His mind raced as he leapt from the shadows to achieve his escape.

"This egg belly sure has his panties in a knot this time. He must be working on something really important if he's this riled up about me. Still, it's quite the rush to be sneaking through her like this. I never get this kind of attention anymore."

He hurried down a corridor as he saw shadows around the corner of the end of it. With a squeal he flung himself into the nearest open doorway and hid from the army of patrol robots. To his luck, he glanced over at a nearby table and saw a jar filled with green shards. Apparently Eggman had smashed the entire thing to get the shards he had wanted, giving him multiple uses out of the single emerald. Without hesitation he snatched up the jar and resumed his escape. He made his way around the corridor and into a large garage like room where multiple vehicles were kept.

He marveled at the variety of machines but felt his choice was limited as he heard the shuffling of robots behind him.

"No time to be picky!"

He leaped into the nearest egg-o-matic and to his luck yet again, he found the key was still in the ignition. He fired up the engine post haste as the robots entered the room and began firing their guns. Nack turned to face them, ducking behind the bulletproof glass. He pressed the buttons wildly and ended up firing the flamethrower, roasting most of the robots in the doorway! He laughed to himself and turned to the door of the garage. It was currently closed and since he needed to make a quick exit, released a missile from his machine and blew a hole in the steel door!

Even Lady Luck herself has limits; and as lucky as Nack had been, it was time to lose a gamble. A second wave of robots fought through the flaming doorway and continued their attack on Nack. The purple weasel flew off through the opening he'd created but not before taking a spray of bullets to the gas tank. He flew off without a care in the world as the tank leaked gas into the air, unbeknownst to him.

The robots helped one another to their feet, doing their best to recover from the battle. Some of them had built-in fire extinguishers and used them to put out the blaze, while others helped their injured comrades back to the workshop. One of the more articulate robots reported back to the doctor himself.

"Dr. Eggman, sir," he reported "Nack has escaped and he took the master emerald shards with him."

"It doesn't matter" the hotheaded doctor had regained his cool "Very soon I will launch my next attack on Sonic's friends and then I will take them back, but for the moment, let me enjoy myself in solitude."

The robot bowed and left the room as Eggman stood staring out the roof made of glass. The sky seemed so endlessly blue, like the hedgehog he so despised; and yet, it was like something more. These emeralds were like a gift from the divine, something beyond mortal creation, and yet Eggman had crafted them with his own two hands. He believed this to be divine, retribution for his years of blood, sweat, and tears put into his work. It was the ultimate reward after receiving multiple failures and an infinite loss record against Sonic.

He sat down to his desk where he had an old piece of parliament paper and a feather pen. He was writing a poem to commemorate the moment, to come to terms with what he was about to do would truly mean. As he solemnly wrote away with his old fashioned utensils, the evil emeralds lay across the table; glistening a rare gray and green light upon Eggman's soul.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cruising through the sky, Nack was feeling good. Not only did he get the upper hand on Eggman's troops, but he got away with the master emerald shards as well.

"That egg belly didn't know what hit him" he chortled.

As he continued to fly through the air, he looked down to notice he was above the Mystic Ruins. Suddenly his machine began to cough and sputter, slowly losing altitude. In a panic he looked at the gauges on the dashboard to see that the gas was on E.

"Oh no" he moaned "I've got to land!"

He looked over the side of the egg-o-matic to see Tails' workshop was the closest place to land.

"Even worse, if I land down there, Sonic will clean my clock! But I don't have a choice; I have to land or risk crashing into the ground."

He brought the machine to a rest as he worried about who might come out to greet him from the workshop.


	15. The Last Fight For the Super Emeralds

_**Chapter 14: The Last Fight For the Super Emeralds**_

Knuckles appeared on a circular stone platform that was surrounded by lava. The heat of the magma was quite intense, making his brow moist just from standing there. He looked around at the walls and ceiling; it gave the area an enclosed feeling. A cage was hanging from the ceiling above the center of the platform. Knuckles jumped up to get a better look at it and saw the seven super emeralds were resting inside, slowly swaying with the weight of the cage; but before he could claim them, another being teleported into the room. Metal stared him down from the opposite side of the platform.

"This is it" said Knuckles sternly "No more games or tricks, we settle this for keeps."

Metal nodded in agreement, showing the first sign of intelligent life since the trial had begun. Knuckles charged the robot with his typical style of hungry fists, but Metal was ready for this. He sidestepped the first punch and pushed Knuckles with both his arms. Knuckles slid forward to the edge of the platform, nearly being flung into the lava.

"Too close!" he wailed.

He looked back to see Metal had somewhat of a smirk on his face. With a simple gesture, he had almost won this fight. Knuckles growled and knew he would have to step up his game. Metal extended the invitation this time and charged Knuckles who leaped over Metal and punched him in the back of the head! Metal was sent flying back into the wall, skimming over the lava as he went. He didn't take any damage however, and climbed up the wall to launch his next attack. He glided towards Knuckles and spiraled downward as he was above him but Knuckles sidestepped. As soon as he hit stone, Knuckles unleashed an array of punches, pummeling the robot into his own crater!

Before he could continue his onslaught, Metal's eyes glowed purple and he fired a laser beam from them! Knuckles saw this and pulled back to avoid it, but still took one of the lasers directly to his chest. The beam wasn't strong enough to penetrate, but Knuckles felt a second degree burn emerge on his chest; the pain magnified by the heat of the room. Metal head butted Knuckles and got back on his feet, connecting a left hook to Knuckles' jaw. The echidna flew back from the crater and skid against the surface of the stone.

As he started to get up, Metal fired another laser at him. Knuckles tumbled to the side and used his crouched stance to leap at Metal for an uppercut that knocked him into the ceiling! Metal dug his claws into the surface and pointed his body downward. He pushed off the ceiling with a fist ready, catching Knuckles off guard! He connected with a mighty hit bounced off of Knuckles' head and gave him a serious feeling of whiplash. He stumbled backwards but caught himself, resuming his stance.

Metal stood in place, looking at Knuckles. It was as if he was trying to admire the echidna for enduring the pain but screaming, "No!" against his body's wishes. Knuckles could tell the robot was getting tired of the fight as his needlelike fingers began to spin around. He charged Knuckles with the piercing buzz of his hands echoing in the room. Knuckles dodged the first swing and ducked beneath the second. As he crouched, he leaped up suddenly, forcing the spinning needles into Metal's own face!

The robot stumbled backwards and fell on his back, fighting to remove his hand from his face. Pieces of steel bounced across the floor as he finally freed his hand. He stood up, his eye completely destroyed and nothing but a hole in his head. He looked where Knuckles was standing to see that he had moved! Metal had forgot to account for his new blind spot and turned to his left to meet the smirk of Knuckles. The echidna connected with a powerful blow that knocked Metal down and tried to follow up on his combination when Metal flashed a bright light from his eye.

The shine forced Knuckles to shield his eyes as Metal stood up and used Knuckles' head as a platform to jump up! Knuckles nearly fell over from the impact of Metal's foot and looked up as soon as the flash cleared. Clinging to the side of the cage was a desperate Metal, reaching his arm inside to grab one of the super emeralds! Knuckles panicked and jumped up, grabbing onto Metal's ankles! Metal tried to kick him off but Knuckles grabbed a hold of the side of the cage and climbed up beside Metal. The two of them used their free arms to punch one another, struggling, trying to knock the other to the ground.

Metal fired up his hand again, attempting to make a swift and messy victory but he did not take into account how much experience Knuckles had fighting. The echidna pulled up his legs and slammed Metal, knocking him loose from the cage and into the ground. Knuckles released himself as well from the cage and used the momentum to guide his fist in a powerful hit that crashed into Metal's stomach!

The robot buzzed and beeped as part of his body exploded, launching him across the platform to its edge. He slowly stood up, his arm broken in several places and his body missing pieces throughout. He stared at Knuckles again with his last eye and the hole in his head, displaying the emptiness in his defeat. Knuckles felt an uncanny sympathy rise up in his belly and he couldn't help but share his thoughts.

"You're just like me" he said softly "You're just doing your job, what feels right to you. It's your duty to protect the super emeralds as it is mine to protect the master emerald. Whoever built you made the right choice when they made you like me."

Knuckles smiled and closed his eyes, taking a moment to absorb the magnitude of his feelings. Metal continued to stare, as lifeless as the day he was created.

"I'll set you free from the slavery of your duty."

Knuckles screamed violently as he charged Metal, catching the robot unguarded. He connected a heavy punch that flung the robot from the platform and into the pool of lava. The robot sputtered and struggled beneath the heated bath until he finally surrendered to the magma. Knuckles shed a tear as he stood there, the reality being strangely personal for him. He wiped his face off and climbed up the wall. He glided over to the cage and undid one of the links in the chain. It crashed into the surface below and released the seven super emeralds.

Knuckles landed beside it and absorbed them into his arm. He could feel a deepening power resonate in his belly, something much more than the chaos emeralds alone. A red teleport sphere appeared behind him and he stepped upon it, appearing at the mouth of the cave once more. He hurried back to Tails' workshop to share with them his achievement.


	16. Evil Makes Itself Known

**Joe97:** Hey folks, just a few quick things. For starters, I edited a few of the previous chapters to add a little page break that looks like this: -0-0-0-0-0-0- I only used the dashes before but for whatever reason, fan fiction wouldn't post it. I ignored until I read another story that used the zeros so I "borrowed" the idea and used it myself. Also, just wanted to say that there are only a few more chapters after this one, anywhere from two to four, so keep checking back because we're on the home stretch.

_**Chapter 15: Evil Makes Itself Known**_

Knuckles raced up the stairs to Tails' workshop and noticed a familiar flying machine as it landed on the launch pad. He growled to himself as he charged Nack, who saw Knuckles and squealed in fear. The echidna grabbed him by the vest and lifted him off his feet.

"Alright you slimy thief" he yelled "Where's the master emerald?"

"I don't have it!" replied Nack, flailing in midair.

Knuckles pulled back his fist.

"Don't lie to me! I saw you steal it!"

"Ok, ok! There's a jar in the egg-o-matic, the shards are in there."

"Shards!" cried the echidna.

Knuckles reached across the leather seat of the machine and grabbed the jar, shocked at the sight of it. The master emerald was capable of being reformed, but the thought of it being in pieces meant there could be one missing anywhere; a thought that deeply annoyed Knuckles.

"Is this all of it?"

"I don't know. I saw Eggman working with it so he could still have some of it."

"It'll have to do then."

Rouge came outside after hearing all the commotion.

"What's going on out here?"

"We have an unwelcomed guest" griped Knuckles "But he brought us a gift."

He held up the jar of emerald shards.

"Watch him for me, I'm gonna put these away."

Knuckles walked inside the workshop for a moment, leaving Rouge and Nack alone.

"Hey Rouge" flirted the weasel "You're looking good today."

"Quit while you're ahead" she shot back.

-0-0-0-0-0-0

As Knuckles walked inside, he passed a room with no lights on and he peered inside. The dim light from behind the shades illuminated the room enough for him to see Sonic lying in a bed with Amy at his side. He wasn't expecting to see the blue blur in such a condition, but by now it didn't come as much of a surprise. As he stood there staring, Tails entered from another room finishing wrapping a bandage across his arm.

"Oh, I forgot" started the fox "You weren't here when Rouge brought him back."

"Back from where?"

"While you were gone, Sonic and I went to Station Square. Two more robots from Eggman were causing trouble."

"No surprise there" scoffed Knuckles.

"They were really strong. Each of them had a master emerald shard inside of them."

"What? Are you kidding me?"

"I wish I was."

Tails left the room for a moment to bring the two shards to Knuckles.

"This confirms it then" analyzed Knuckles "Eggman must have more of the shards than I know about."

Tails handed him the shards and he put them in the jar with the others. His arm jolted as he moved it.

"That's twice today I've injured my arm" he winced "I've seen enough action for a while."

The two of them paused for a moment, hearing faint sobbing in the distance. They looked to see Amy stirring in the other room.

"She's been like this since Rouge brought Sonic back. He absorbed the chaos emeralds and the two shards into his right arm. His body was changing different colors and he must've been in a lot of pain."

"I can only imagine" stated Knuckles "Two sources of power fighting inside you; man."

"Amy's been through a lot too" said Tails sympathetically "We all have. When we fought those robots, they were so intent on killing us. I've never seen Eggman put up such a fight before, he must be really serious this time."

"If things continue to get worse, our hands might be forced. He is human, sure, but we can't let someone that dangerous be around to threaten the lives of others."

The two were quiet once more, a strange battle of philosophies hanging in the air. As they pondered, Sonic began to stir and Amy screamed aloud. Tails and Knuckles hurried into the room and so did Rouge and Nack, having heard the cry from outside. Cream brought in the rear, holding a bandaged chao in her arms as she flicked on the light.

Sonic's vision was blurry as he sat up; the world felt like it was a top and would never stop spinning. He looked to his right to see the pink outline of the person next to him and realized who it was as she hugged him around the neck.

"Oh Sonic!" she wailed "I'm glad you're alive!"

"How ya feelin' slugger?" teased Knuckles.

"Never better…" lied Sonic.

"You're lucky you're still around Sonic" mentioned Tails "You nearly tore your own body apart."

"How's that?"

"You absorbed the master emerald shards and the chaos emeralds into the same arm. Their fight for power almost cost you everything."

Tails didn't like the gravity of the words, but he knew they had to be said if anything was to be learned from this.

"I'm sorry everyone" said Sonic softly "I'll be more careful from now on."

As everything appeared to be returning to normal, Cream looked out the window at the foot of the bed. She walked over to it and looked out, seeing a strange light in the distance. She called Tails over to have him look. After a moment, the fox panicked and clamored to his friends.

"Everybody! Get on the floor!"

It took a second to sink in but everyone did so, with Tails grabbing Cream and flinging themselves to the floor. Just as they did, a blast of energy crashed into the workshop and destroyed the top half of the building! Everybody held onto the closest partner as the explosion shook their foundations. Never before had such an intense variety of feelings attack their senses: the wind from the explosion tugging at their clothes, the heat from the fire making them break a sweat as they hid in fear, and the smoke that flung itself into their faces, causing them to cough in intervals. The light from the energy was so bright they were forced to keep their eyes shut to save their eyesight.

As the light dimmed and the smoke began to clear, they helped one another up. The impact was unusual, something more than just cannon fire from a machine or a robot. Dusting each other off, they didn't notice the other presence until Amy once again screamed to cause awareness.

Hanging above them in the sky was Eggman, powered up in his super form. Sonic scowled at him, feeling uneasy in his stomach as he watched the yellow lines on Eggman's black lab coat spin downward at a quick pace. It was like an unusual way of measuring his heartbeat, as if to say that he was ready to use his true potential.

Before Sonic could act, the evil doctor scoffed and turned around, flying off in the direction from whence he came.

"Sonic" cried Tails "What are we gonna do?"

"That was just an invitation" he replied "He wants us to know that he's in control."

Sonic clenched his fist and threw a punch in the air.

"I have to go to him, I have to end this."

"No Sonic, you can't!" wailed Amy.

"If I don't he'll just come back here and kill us all" he snapped "I don't like it, but we have to accept the reality of this, Eggman wants to play for keeps this time and I can't let him terrorize us anymore."

The others seemed moved by his words. Although Sonic was known for his love of adventure, he seemed naive at times, too young to handle the fate of the world; and yet, he was always a straight shooter, he knew when it was time to get serious. The others were somewhat humbled, void of any kind of eternal rival like that of Sonic and Eggman. They understood each other in ways the rest of the group would not be able to understand.

"I'm going to beat him."

"Take these" said Knuckles, offering the super emeralds "They are much stronger than the chaos emeralds."

"Thanks for the offer Knuckles; I appreciate what you did to get these but, the chaos emeralds haven't failed me yet. I lost the last time I fought Eggman, but they were there to save my life. I can trust them."

The two of them smiled at one another and clasped hands, acknowledging the brotherhood between them. Sonic rubbed Tails' head, smiling at his younger sibling and gave Amy a tight hug before he turned away from them. With a brisk wave he leaped into the air, using the power of the emeralds to fly. The group felt a somber mood settle over them as they waved him off.

Sonic set off in the direction of Eggman's fortress, the determination in his belly leading him to the final battle. At long last, their struggle would be brought to a climactic end.


	17. Destiny Flips a Coin

Sorry for the pause in updates there; the transition from my old laptop to my new was a little more hectic than I'd planned. This is a long one.

_**Chapter 16: Destiny Flips a Coin**_

Watching Sonic leave was a somber thing for the group. In the past they always had unwavering faith in their friend, he was a savior they could believe in, but after seeing Eggman, they felt the worst kind of fear: the fear that their hero might not be invincible.

"Cheer up gang" toted Knuckles "Its Sonic; he wouldn't fight a battle he wasn't sure he could win."

"You think he's alright after everything his body has been through?" questioned Tails.

"I don't know, but one thing I can say is, he's got a will unlike anybody else. I've known many echidnas that lost their lives to the same mistake Sonic made. For him to live through that, he'd have to have gotten stronger, I mean, there were two energies fighting inside of his body, he'd have to have gained some kind of new power."

"Perhaps living through that kind of experience is a way of gaining trust with the emeralds, almost like they were living entities. If anyone could gain enough trust to unlock their true potential, it's Sonic."

Knuckles and Tails smiled at one another, the idea covering up the hole of doubt in their hearts. As they had a silent moment of relief, Amy butted in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt" she broke "But Cream is still hurt and so are the rest of us."

The two of them turned to look at the rabbit who was holding her stomach, aching from the impact of debris that collided into her. Knuckles nodded and walked over to where the kitchen was. The jar of emeralds shards had rolled off the table and hidden beneath a board. The echidna found it and to his relief it was still intact. He pulled out the cork and fused the emeralds together, creating a nearly perfect master emerald.

"I can help you guys. The master emerald has healing capabilities so I'll get us back to normal."

Knuckles took his time, walked around and using the emerald's powers on everyone. He healed himself, Tails, Cream, Amy, Rouge, and Cheese. He smiled to himself as everyone thanked him, feeling a sense of accomplishment. As he grinned, he felt a finger tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see an injured Nack feign a smile. Knuckles scowled at him.

"I'm not heartless" he said "I'll heal you, but on one condition."

"Anything!" wailed the weasel.

"You have to fix up Tails' workshop and I want it to be bigger and better than before. It's the least you can do for all the trouble you've caused."

"Okay, okay!" he cried "Just heal me!"

Knuckles did so with reluctance. The weasel looked at his hands, taken in by the awesomeness of the emerald he had been so desperately been trying to steal. He turned away when Knuckles grabbed him by the collar.

"We had a deal you worm!"

Nack struggled to get away, it was his nature to resist direction from anyone, but it was Knuckles' nature to enforce direction for the safety of everyone else. The poor weasel couldn't get away and would have a lot of work ahead of him as Knuckles handed him a tool belt and motioned to a pile of spare lumber across from the house.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Dropping in through the same hole in the window, Sonic landed in the top room of Eggman's fortress. The hedgehog scoffed at the idea that the doctor had been so preoccupied he didn't even fix the window from the last time they fought. Eggman was sitting at a desk, writing slowly with a feather pen and taking moments to think in between sentences. The stack of gray gems were at his side once again, a signal of the impending danger that he was to administer.

"What's a good word for world domination?" he pondered aloud.

"Failure" scoffed Sonic.

"Witty" laughed the doctor, writing in the word he was looking for.

He stood up and turned to face Sonic, a solemn look on his face.

"How long has it been Sonic? Ten years?"

"Something like that."

"In all this time I have not won even once against you but within the past few days I have earned my first blemish on your win record and threatened you and your friend's lives to the point of you considering me as a real threat."

The doctor started pacing before his desk, his hand upon his chin.

"It has finally come to this Sonic" he stated "Either me or you will decide the fate of this world; we will claim victory or die trying."

"You raised the stakes doc" said Sonic coolly "I just called your ante."

Eggman laughed. In all his years of battling Sonic he had developed a fondness for his clever remarks.

"Let's turn the world upside down for a day, shall we?"

"I'd like nothing better" boasted Sonic as he began to change into his super form.

The power of the emeralds manifested in Sonic, his skin releasing a ray of light as it transformed from blue to a golden yellow. The doctor jeered as the evil emeralds lifted themselves from the table and began to circle him, slowly encasing the scientist in their manufactured power. His moustache flared as it changed yellow and his lab coat flashed with rings on yellow energy against its black surface. His glasses grew as black as his costume as the energy lifted him from his feet.

Sonic pushed himself from the ground, thrusting himself through the other hole in the glass, taunting Eggman into a race. The doctor accepted and chased after the hedgehog. The two of them were steady in their pursuit of the atmosphere until Sonic unleashed an extra boost of energy to blast ahead of the Eggman. He turned to face him as they entered outer space, the doctor with an annoyed look on his face.

"You won the battle, but not the war."

He connected with a solid right hook to Sonic's jaw, knocking him backwards, but the hedgehog caught himself and smirked. The doctor was aghast as Sonic raced up to him and grabbed him by the moustache, using it to pull the doctor into his punches. He alternated a series of hits from face to stomach and broke the close quarters with a roundhouse kick. Eggman flew backwards and caught himself as Sonic pursued him and continued his combination with a foot to his stomach. Sonic leaped off of him elegantly as he landed back in his stance.

"You've gotten stronger" he said, brushing off the blood from his lip "But it takes more than brute strength to defeat a scientist!"

Eggman began moving quickly around Sonic in a circle, leaving an afterimage as he moved. The images began to appear more lifelike until Eggman's movements disappeared and left 10 shadows of himself in place! The shadows took advantage of the moment and rushed Sonic, attacking with a volley of punches and kicks. They moved outward and formed a tight circle around the hedgehog, kicking him around like a pinball. One of them knocked him back to the center as the other nine readied a blast and fired it into the center of the fray!

Sonic burst from the center of the explosion with a green shield around his body, unaware that the shadows had moved as well! He saw they were still surrounding him as he let his shield down. They locked their hands and pulled back their arms, hitting Sonic with a downward, two-handed punch. The hedgehog flew down from the circle and landed into an asteroid, forcing himself to get up despite his pain.

"I've gotta bounce back" he thought "If I can find the real one, I can break his concentration and the attack will stop!"

Sonic held out both hands, firing out a beam that resembled a sword from each. He flew back up into the center of them and swung violently, his makeshift weapon cleaving through all of them! The shadows faded into the blackness of space as the real Eggman was struck across the face from the beam, leaving a large gash across his cheek! The doctor angrily wiped away the blood from his face, staring down the hedgehog who stared back.

He flexed his arms at his side, revealing a green glow that rose up from his torso and out his hands. His fists became engulfed in green energy and he charged Sonic, landing a one-two combination of blows. He struck quickly with the first fist to stun, then strongly with the second to damage. The series appeared to be working until Sonic broke the formation by pressing his foot into Eggman's stomach and using the leverage to flip him over his head. As Eggman hurried to right himself, he met an explosion from an energy blast right in his face!

When the smoke from it cleared, the doctor was in poor shape. He was heaving, somewhat covered in bruises, trying to get himself to stand erect.

"Like I said" he mustered between breaths "I'll die trying!"

He clenched his fists in front of him, tightening his body as he began to glow with green energy. Sonic felt an uneasy fear begin to bite at his belly as he watched the doctor increase his power. A green wave rose outward from his body, acting like a vacuum to all things nearby. Sonic braced himself as he watched several nearby asteroids be pulled into his vortex, being shattered into dust as they made contact.

The doctor screamed with a high intensity as his body exploded with green energy! Sonic braced himself against the wave, doing his best to keep from being blown away. The yellow parts of his body were replaced with neon green. Rings of energy floated around him loosely as his body became so black he nearly disappeared into the space behind him! His glasses shined a resilient gray in the reflection of the sunlight, showing just how jaded he'd become.

"Die trying…" he whispered with poison dripping from his lips.

Eggman charged Sonic so fast he could not see the attack coming. He connected with a punch that made Sonic believe his jaw had just broken. The doctor laughed violently, his voice echoing into space as he continued his assault. Sonic was unable to avoid his attacks, taking every last hook and uppercut that came his way. He grabbed the doctor by the arm after he took a punch and sent waves of energy into his body, electrocuting the mad scientist!

He groaned aloud and thrust a fist across Sonic's mouth, freeing himself from the attack. Sonic panted now that he had a free moment, his mind racing almost as fast as his heart.

"I can't lose this…I won't…too much is riding on the outcome here."

Thoughts of everything that had happened flooded his mind; images of all of his friends, of moments that he fended off Eggman's threats with the power of his super form.

"I have to trust them!" he screamed.

Eggman watched as a power began to rise from within Sonic's body. A white light resonated from within him, lengthening his quills and lightening his skin to a white color. The chaos emeralds surfaced in his arms, resting soundly as if they belonged by resting in his flesh. They flashed white as the energy was released from the screaming hedgehog's body, engulfing the darkness of the universe!

Outer space looked like a negative zone, being shrouded in a white atmosphere that made it feel more like limbo. Eggman was made visible, like grain of pepper in a glass of milk. Sonic glared at him, having fully realized the power of the chaos emeralds. The two enemies burned with determination like never before to win their biggest battle yet!

They charged one another like two trains on the same track as they fought to end their long struggle for control of the planet!


	18. Good and Evil Settle Their Differences

Next chapter is the last one people! Things are getting intense!

_**Chapter 17: Good and Evil Settle Their Differences**_

Sonic and Eggman collided, each connecting with a punch to the other's cheek. They broke their tussle and spaced out the battlefield. Sonic quickly crossed his arms and fired out a beam that was shaped like an X. Eggman saw this coming and fired a dark beam from both of his palms, the energies clashing before them! The static coming from them erupted into a burst of white light that forced Sonic to shield his eyes. Eggman had an advantage; he was able to protect his eyes from most of the light thanks to his glasses. He flew up behind up Sonic, catching him by surprise!

He cast back his hand and readied a black ball of energy as Sonic turned around to meet the attack head on! The hedgehog was sent spinning backwards, almost unable to catch himself. He stared back at the Eggman to see he had already moved! Sonic was ready for this trick and prepared a ball of energy in his own hand. He turned to meet Eggman, about to use the same tactic as before, only to have their two energies meet directly and explode! They both flew back and took their stances, this time Sonic was going on the offensive.

He punched violently and spun his legs around quickly for several high intensity kicks, but the doctor was too fast. He caught each attack and blocked it effectively, proving that the two were more evenly matched than the other wanted to believe. Eggman countered Sonic's next punch and delivered a vicious haymaker that made Sonic's neck look like a spring! As the super hedgehog stumbled backwards, he stretched back his left arm and created a hollow sphere made of golden energy. The doctor saw this and felt puzzled, trying to continue his combo.

Sonic dodged Eggman's fist and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him into the sphere he had just created! The doctor was caught inside of the sphere, too stupefied to escape. With an athletic kick, Sonic sent the sphere high up into the reaches of space and then snapped his fingers, detonating the ball in a large explosion of yellow energy! He smirked to himself, enjoying the moment of control, only to have it stripped away as the doctor reappeared.

His image appeared before Sonic so quickly it was blurry as Eggman grabbed Sonic by the arms and started head butting him. He pounded so hard that Sonic saw his vision smear, his brain being boggled from the blows. Eggman then powered up, releasing the excess energy into Sonic's body, which in turn flowed back into Eggman! The two of them became conductors for one another as they were being electrocuted. Sonic managed to move his leg and kicked the doctor in his right side, breaking them free of the danger.

"You idiot!" screamed Sonic "You need to learn to control your power!"

"I've spent all my time working on the emeralds, there wasn't enough time for a field test since you like to show up and ruin everything!"

The two of them paused, taking a moment to rest. Sonic began chuckling to himself until it grew into a full blown laugh. Eggman heard this and began laughing as well, the two rivals locked in a moment of joy. There was something to be said of two enemies that could reach a point so deep in their struggle that they could actually laugh about it.

"You sure are crazy doc" teased Sonic "I don't know what I'd do all day without you."

"Agreed" noted Eggman "If you weren't around, I'd have never pushed my brain to its limits to create the things I have. It won't be as much fun ruling the world without someone to fight back."

Sonic chuckled, rubbing his thumb across his chin.

"All things have to come to an end."

Eggman nodded.

Sonic reached behind him and started to fidget with one of his quills. He tweaked it until it finally broke off, a new one growing back in its place. Eggman cooed at this, marveling at the techniques the hedgehog had learned. Sonic squeezed it in his palm, causing it to surge with energy. Small sparks of lightning danced about on it as it grew to length of up to six feet.

Eggman saw his opening and charged Sonic, swinging a heavy punch that drifted through nothing! The doctor realized it was just an after image, Sonic had already moved! He knew Sonic was fast, but had no idea just how quick he had become.

"Over here!" he taunted.

Eggman turned around to see Sonic standing on an asteroid, waving playfully. The doctor fired a blast at him that passed right through; it was another fake! Eggman looked all around him; he was surrounded by after images! He fired desperately at them, hoping to hit the real one at some point. He continued to blast until he ran out of energy, heaving from his efforts. He managed to destroy all of the after images, but the smoke made it difficult for him to see. As the smoke settled, he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Eggman!" the doctor turned to see Sonic, his arm cocked with the quill in his hand "You missed me!"

Like the hand of Zeus Sonic flung the quill at light speed, aiming straight for the doctor! Eggman tried to move out of the way but was still fatigued from the onslaught of blasts he released. The spine made a direct hit and exploded upon impact, releasing smoke and yellow electricity in its wake. When the cloud finally settled, a battered Eggman was revealed. His body was covered in various bruises and wounds, his lab coat was shredded along the edges and missing pieces all around. A trickle of blood slid down from his unhappy lips; a scowl that could make a god cringe.

Eggman held his right arm with his free hand, waiting for the smog to erase itself from his vision. To his horror he saw a white figure emerge from beyond the cloud, clenching a shining energy in his hand.

"You hurt me and you hurt my friends" scowled the demigod "This is the last time you will ever have a chance to be forgiven. Will you stop this?"

The doctor managed a smile that sunk deeply into the evil in his heart. As he smiled like the devil himself, he spit a drop of blood into Sonic's face.

"Like Hell I will."

Sonic's cheeks burned red as he trembled.

"Then you will DIE!"

Sonic thrust the energy into Eggman's face, blowing up into a torrent of white energy that pushed him down towards the Earth! He had no strength left, he could not resist the blast as his powered disappeared and he transformed back into a normal human. He began drifting down through space, into the atmosphere of the planet.

"I may see the end of my days" he noted "But I will not face it alone."

Reaching into his coat he grabbed the seven evil emeralds, so small they fit in one hand. He admired them for a moment, the fruition of all his work, before he tossed them into space. The blast pushed Eggman through the atmosphere, a wave of fire engulfing the other side of his body as he was ripped apart from both sides. The energy careened into the planet, dropping onto the doctor's own fortress before exploding in a magnificent energy that would signal the end of a long struggle.

Sonic watched the events from space, feeling remorse as the doctor was taken away from this world. Not only did Sonic lose his greatest enemy, he felt like he lost a part of himself as well. He was distracted by the blast that he didn't notice the evil emeralds float up to him and surround him. They circled around him, stirring with gray electricity that released a field around Sonic! His body became paralyzed as the emeralds melted away into the field, forming a sphere that encased the hedgehog.

He struggled to move his muscles, unable to overcome the force of the field of evil energy. Sonic screamed at the top of his lungs as the unstable energy began to detonate. He could feel himself being ripped apart as his image faded away into the explosion.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Back at the Mystic Ruins, Nack was hard at work on the workshop.

"Stupid echidna" he muttered.

"I heard that, you weasel!" ordered Knuckles "You just better keep working!"

"Sorry!" he wailed back.

"Hey look!" cried Tails "Look up in the sky!"

Everyone looked to where the fox was pointing to see a black spot that emerged in the blue sky. It grew bigger and flashed white until it finally disappeared.

"Oh no" cried Amy "I hope Sonic is alright!"


	19. How It All Ended

Well here it is; the conclusion to the rewrite of The Evil Chaos Emeralds. I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read my story. I also want to take a moment to let everybody know that there _will_ be a sequel, possibly even a third story but no more beyond that. I have another work to finish before I start on the sequel, but I'll be getting around to it soon. I'll post some information about the sequel to my profile soon so stay updated. Any who, let's finish this bad boy.

_**Chapter 18: How It All Ended**_

Over the next few days, everyone spent time to themselves except for Nack who continued to work on Tails' workshop under the watchful eye of Knuckles. Sonic and Eggman were both presumed dead. A funeral was to be held, but it was too soon; too sad for everyone to bear. Needless to say, things wouldn't be the same. Nack finally finished the workshop and Knuckles was too upset to be angry at him any longer.

"Ok Nack, that's good. You can go now."

"You…you're not mad at me anymore?"

"No, it's fine. You did your time so don't worry about it."

"You're not going to hit me or anything are you?"

Knuckles scoffed "Just leave the master emerald alone and I'll leave you alone."

Nack jumped in the air and kicked his feet, cheering as he ran away. He wanted to claim his freedom while he still could. Everything was quiet until later that night. Tails was lying in his bed, tossing and turning from the nightmare he was having. He dreamt that Sonic was fighting with Eggman and he was slowly being overcome.

"No Sonic!" he cried in his sleep "You can't die! We need you! I need my friend!"

He sat up in his bed, panting and sweating as he came to his senses. He rubbed his eyes, brushing away a few tears.

"Sonic" he whispered to himself "I miss you."

He stood up from his bed and walked outside to sit on his doorstep. It was late but he found himself unable to sleep. The fresh air helped calm his mind; it was something he needed because the past few days had been hard on everyone in different ways. Tails lost his friend, Knuckles lost a close rival, and Amy lost a piece of her heart. They were doing their best to deal with it but no one wanted to believe that Sonic was really gone.

Tails stared up into the night sky, marveling at the blueness it displayed amongst the stars. It was just another thing that reminded him of Sonic. As he watched the stars intently, he saw one of them shoot across the sky. He closed his eyes and made a wish.

"I wish Sonic was alive."

Tails opened his eyes to watch the star continue to race across the sparkly sky. It turned away from the sky and began to fly down through the air, heading straight for the end of Tails' launch pad! It plummeted down to the ground, dispersing the golden and white flames around it to reveal a blue hedgehog. He rested on his knee as Tails raced over to him.

"Sonic!" he cried "You're ok!"

Sonic stood up slowly and cracked a smile as his two tailed friend hugged him tightly.

"It's alright" Sonic comforted "I'm alive and well."

He fell on to Tails who had to hold him up.

"Let's hold off on the reunion until tomorrow. I'm really beat."

Tails nodded and helped his friend into the workshop. Sonic fell into the spare bed and fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. Tails returned to his own bed, finally able to sleep from the relief that filled his heart. He couldn't wait until tomorrow to tell his friends the good news.

The next day, Tails had gathered everyone around the workshop, eager to share a secret with them.

"Alright Tails" said Knuckles breaking the silence "What's this surprise?"

He gave a gesture and Sonic emerged with a humble grin on his face. He was reluctant to return to the company of his friends. Everyone cheered and surrounded him, bombarding him with their joy. Amy clung to Sonic's side with tears in her eyes and Knuckles gave him a firm pat on the back.

"It's good to see you guys" he smiled.

"You had us worried sick" prodded Knuckles "That must've been one hell of a battle."

"Yeah, it was intense."

Sonic recalled the events for his friends to hear.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Fighting desperately inside of the dark sphere, Sonic struggled to break free of its power. The energy had formed a barrier that was harder than any steel and his attacks proved useless against their defense. Just when he began to believe that this would be the end, seven shards of the master emerald entered the sphere and surrounded Sonic, changing into waves of energy. They encompassed him in a ball of energy that transformed white as it resisted the power of the evil emeralds.

An explosion ensued that sent Sonic tumbling into the belly of space. He had evaded the last attack of Eggman but was now lost in the deepest recesses of space. Using the energy of the master emerald shards to keep him going, Sonic searched continuously for days before he found any sign of Earth. When he saw a blue planet emerge in his sight, he raced for it like there was no tomorrow and that was when he arrived at Tails' workshop.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"That's the gist of it" concluded the hedgehog.

"That sounds pretty rough" added Tails.

"It was for a while, but I had to defend you guys and I would do whatever it took to see you guys again."

Sonic felt himself blush as he admitted his feelings.

"Even though I made it back" he said grimly "Eggman resisted until the very end. He had enough energy left in his emeralds to survive but he chose to use them against me. I wish it didn't have to end this way."

"It's not your fault Sonic" Amy comforted "If you didn't end him, he would've killed you and then the rest of us. He forced your hand and you had no choice but to play it."

She gave him a tight hug.

"Thanks Amy" he smiled "Now we can finally live in peace."

The group had a feeling of warmness as they looked up at the blue sky. For once in their lives, they could see the future being without trouble.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Later that night Amy was sitting alone in her apartment. It was a boring night, all of her friends either with their boyfriends or at work. She yawned as she heard a knock on the door. With a heightened curiosity she opened it to see Sonic standing there with a handful of red roses.

"Hi Amy" he said with a lump in his throat.

"Oh hi Sonic."

"Now that all of that is over, I thought you might want to go out on a date with me."

Amy felt like a dream was coming true; her face became extremely hot.

"Oh this is so sudden" she stammered.

"Well I know I put you through a lot with all the fighting and getting hurt I did, I want to take you out for a good time. Couples still get in free at Twinkle Park if you'd like to go."

She smiled warmly "Of course I would. Just give me a minute."

She halfway shut the door and hurried into her bathroom. She ran a comb through her messy hair and put on some quick lip gloss. She threw off her t-shirt and shorts and put on her casual red dress. She returned to the door with a smile. Sonic nearly bit off his tongue when he saw how good she looked.

"I'm ready" she teased with a wink.

Sonic excitedly took her hand as the two of them walked to Twinkle Park. They rode the Ferris wheel but had to leave the ride prematurely. Sonic made the mistake of eating an extra-large chili cheese dog with double the jalapenos before they rode. Although it was embarrassing for Sonic Amy couldn't help but laugh. Sonic's appetite had a way of getting him into trouble. Later Sonic tried his hand at a carnival game, throwing the baseball and hitting the stack of jars square in the middle! He won a large doll that looked like a chao and gave it to Amy. She swooned at her hero as they continued their night of fun.

Time slipped away from them; it seemed like an instant before they were back at Amy's apartment, standing anxiously next to each other by the door.

"I had a good time" she mentioned.

"Me too."

They both felt tense, wondering what to do next. Sonic quickly planted a kiss on her cheek before running off, his heart full of excitement. Amy put a hand to her cheek and reminisced over the night. Could this lead to true love someday? Maybe so. For now, all's well that ends well.

Eggman was defeated, the master emerald was restored, and the evil chaos emeralds were destroyed.

THE END


End file.
